Forgetting Shadows
by Oceanera12
Summary: (SEQUEL to 'Shadows of the Past.') Ethan has a secret, one that he keeps hidden. But when he decides to help a girl with amnesia his secret may be revealed. He want's to get out of the situation the only problem is the girl is unlike any girl he's ever met. As the past closes in Ethan try's to find answers to who he really is...and how far he'll go to help the mysterious Charity...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Okay so here's my sequel, but it's sort of…different. Nicole's in it promise, but she doesn't come in until a little later…and by that I mean a lot latter.**

 **DW: *in corner in a strait jacket and is gagged tightly***

 **I had to tie my commenter up so she wouldn't be giving away anything. Thanks to everyone who is still following me. Let me say, you need to stick with this story, no matter how boring or off subject it maybe. Sorry…Hope you all enjoy it though. Okay on with the story. Let's introduce Ethan L.**

Ethan's POV:

Adventures start in strange ways…or so my father use to say. My adventure started with a mining explosion on a Tuesday afternoon.

It was about four in the afternoon and I was walking home from my job. Whenever I walked home, I always passed through the old mining facility.

Whoever decided to open a mining facility in the forest, I would never now, but they sure were rich. First they mined oil, then gold, after that coal, and know salt; very rich land and a very rich owner. The mine itself was huge, which was one reason I cut through it. No one wanted to walk all the way around the dumb thing so about three years ago, they had established a path through the mine that was open for traveling one hour in the morning, one hour in the afternoon, and one hour in the evening.

So there I was, walking through the facility, when I ran into my old buddy, Chris.

"Hey Chris, how's the family?"

The badger stood up and gave me a smile.

"Ethan! How's my favorite hedgehog? Emily and the kids are doing great, thanks for asking."

Our conversation proceeded on from there and before I knew it, twenty minutes had passed. During the conversation, Chris and I had to cover our ears quite a bit from the explosions.

After another ten minutes, I waved goodbye and continued to walk, but a little quicker. Dinner wasn't going to put itself on the table…

As I continued to walk, the men readied another explosion on the cliff. When I heard the warning shouts for 'Fire in the Hole,' I happened to look up at the giant twenty five foot cliff. It was then I noticed a purple dot up on the horizon…and the dot was moving.

One second too late I screamed, "STOP!" but it was too late.

The charge was lit and the ground shook from the explosion. Everything slowed down by about 50 seconds as the purple figure lost their balance and tumbled off the cliff with a scream. Ignoring the yells from the workers as I ran off the path, I scrambled through the rocks over to where I had seen the stranger fell.

When I arrived on the scene I found a startling picture. A purple hedgehog lay on the ground, unconscious. She was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans and had long hair that stopped about five inches below her shoulders. Quickly, I knelt down and examined her. The girl looked to be in a lot of pain, but wasn't dead. After the examination, I found that she had cracked her head open and it was bleeding quite nicely.

Quickly and quietly, I scooped up the girl in my arms and ran back towards the path. At first, every worker yelled at me in anger…until they saw the girl. Whispers flew around as I raced out of the mining area.

I didn't slow as I raced to my house.

The house wasn't a mansion, but it wasn't a cottage. With three bedrooms and two baths, it was considered to be a well-sized home. It wasn't even a house, but more of a log cabin. I had inherited from my father after my sixteenth birthday, but I still felt uncomfortable inside.

Without pausing to say hello to my neighbors, I ran inside and placed the girl on the couch. I then ran into the kitchen and gathered some rough medical equipment. Pulling every medical know how I could remember out of my head, I cleaned and dressed the wound. After that was complete, I resolved that if she hadn't woken up by tomorrow morning, I would take her to the nearest hospital, since it was about three hours away.

Luckily, I only had to wait two hours.

When I came in from making dinner, which consisted of mac & cheese, I found the girl's eyes fluttering. Quietly, I knelt down next to the couch. "Hey. Are you okay?"

The girl's eyes blinked a few times, then focused on me.

Her eyes were yellow. And I mean literally yellow. She opened her mouth and managed to croak out, "Who are you?"

I smiled gently. "Name's Ethan Leva-…Levson. Are you okay?"

The girl scrunched her forehead. "My head hurts…"

"You cracked it open after you fell off that cliff. Don't you know how to read? There are warning signs all over. You never should have gone on to that cliff."

"Cliff? What cliff?"

"The salt cliff, I saw you up on top, just before they blew the bottom up. It shook the ground causing you to fall." I handed the girl a cup of water, which she drank greedily.

"Thank you…I don't remember any cliff…"

I slowly nodded my head. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? What's your name?"

The girl looked at me with some confusion. "My name?"

"Yes, what's your name? You never told me."

Slowly the girl's face went from confusion to fear. "I…I don't know."

Stranger's POV:

Not knowing your name, age, or origin is scary. I wanted to scream, but didn't think that Ethan would like that.

Ethan was a shock when I first woke up with a pounding headache. With light brown fur and sparkling blue eyes, I knew I hadn't seen him before. The hedgehog was wearing a white button up shirt, which was slightly dirty, probably from carrying me here. He was also wearing black pants…sort of like a waiter would wear…or at least that's what I thought.

When I realized I didn't know my own name, I struggled for anything from my memory, but found it blank as a slate. After a moment of struggle and admitting to Ethan that I didn't know, I began to cry slightly.

Ethan must have seen my distress. "Hey, hey! Don't worry, you just have amnesia. It isn't permanent…I think." He reached up and brushed the tears away. "Don't cry! You'll be just fine."

Quickly I shook my head. "No I won't! I don't remember a thing! What am I going to do?"

Silence followed. After a moment, Ethan took a deep breath. "You can stay with me until you get your memory back. Although, you'll have to work, no sitting around all day. I don't like laziness, got it?"

I stared up at this hedgehog. "But…you don't even know me."

He shrugged. "Maybe not, but I can't just let you starve. You can take one of the guest bedrooms. What else am I going to do with them?"

I felt hopeful for the first time since I had woken up. "Thank you for this kind charity. I am in your debt."

After a shrug, Ethan replied, "Don't mention it. Now…what are we going to call you in the mean time? Because, 'you' is not a proper name."

I racked my brain for anything that may help, but came up empty. "I got nothing."

The hedgehog thought long and hard and then suddenly brightened. "How about Charity?"

Slowly, I sounded out the word in my mouth. It didn't feel or sound right, but it would be as good as any name. "Alright…but for the record, that's not my real name."

Ethan nodded. "I know. Now how about I show you where you'll be staying." Quickly, he stood up then offered his hand to me. As I took the helping hand, I felt my heart start to beat a little harder. _"What in the world?"_

 **Now I know what you're thinking, "Where's Nikki? What happened to her?" Relax, she's fine. Now stop worrying and review the story. P.S.- I really need my civilians to do the next chapter. You're all amazing!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! Sorry…I haven't been in the typing mood, but I am know! Okay so review comments:**

 **Christian Wolf27: Why do people not like Chris? I don't think he's that bad… True, his voice was cast completely wrong, but I like him as a character.**

 **TheRealOTC: um…no comment.**

 **nohailzone: Who ever said it wouldn't prevail? (;**

 **DylanDamboise321: I'm so glad you're excited to see where this goes. Me too!**

 **Meadow: Hold on to your horses. It's going to get a lot more exciting.**

 **DW: *start's yelling through her gag***

 **Me: You aren't getting out anytime soon so save your breath!**

 **Cosmo: Um…what am I doing here?**

 **Me: Well Nicole's a little busy so I need someone to talk too.**

 **Cosmo: Okay then…why did you tie her up?**

 **Me: She spoil's everything!**

 **Cosmo: Well…if you hurt her I will personally put you in the hospital *glares at me with a fury***

 **Me: *Gulps nervously* Um…let's move on! Story! Now!**

Ethan's POV:

As I lead the now dubbed, Charity, down the hall my brain was screaming at me to give the dumb girl some money then kick her out on the street.

" _What if she finds out? Get her out now!"_ my subconscious screamed at me.

I reluctantly ignored. " _I'm not that guy anymore. You don't throw people on the street."_

After the argument between me, myself, and I, I opened the door on the far side of the house, away from everything else. I winced at the sight.

"Um…sorry. I haven't dusted back here in a while."

The room was pretty bad. Dusty and crowded, the old bedroom looked more like an attic.

I guess I should have cleaned back here, but cleaning out the boxes brought back to many painful memories. Memories I wished to remain buried…

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.

"Well…there's a bed, at least!" quickly clearing my thought. "I guess you should get to work!"

Charity looked at me with a blank stare. "You want me…to clean this…by myself?"

Another look in the room and I shook my head. What was I thinking? Way too much work for one person…or hedgehog…whatever. "Of course not. I was going to grab a garbage bag and a dolly for the boxes. There's a vacuum in the storage closet down the hall. Look up and you'll find a few dust rags. Just bring those down here and we'll start in the morning."

The girl looked at the clock. "Is it that late already?" After that question she nodded, "So…where do I sleep in the mean time?"

My brain racked the house for any other bed…and came up with nothing. Once again, my sub-conscious screamed at me to kick her out the house. "Um…you can use my bed, if you want. I'll take the couch." Just thinking about the night ahead made me wince.

Seeing my expression, Charity shook her head. "Um…I'll pass. Just give me a blanket and pillow and I'll be fine on that couch."

A little too eagerly, I nodded. "Okay. Hold on."

Without another word, I went into the storage room (aka-the room that is supposed to be the other bedroom) and found a few spare blankets and a decent pillow. Quickly, I ran back out to the living room.

Charity was already getting comfortable on the couch. Silently, I handed her the items, mumbled a 'goodnight' then walked down the hall to the last bedroom.

Shutting the door, I crumbled to the ground. "Okay…find a strange girl and invite her to stay in my house…weird day…"

 **(Okay…stop it all of you! Shesh…look at the rating! Seriously, if it wouldn't be in a PG movie, then it won't be in here! I have high standards!)**

Slowly, I got up from the floor and made my way over to the dresser.

The room was a decent size, with a king-sized bed and its own bathroom. I even had a large TV for movie night. On the far side of the room was a large wooden dresser. It was the only thing in the house that I had of my mother's.

It wasn't dressy or flowery like a women's dresser, in fact, it was simply stained a deep brown with three large drawers. On top of the dresser was a picture of my father and my mother on their wedding day.

Dad was the spitting image of me…or I was the spitting image of him. Same fur, same build, same eyes, everything looked identical…except I was a little younger.

Then there was Mom…the mother I never knew. She was also a brown hedgehog, but a lighter shade…like the sand on the beach. With these strange purple eyes and smile, Cassandra had captured my Dad's heart…until she left him one month after my birth.

Next to the wedding picture was another. This one showed my Dad and me when I was about six.

Dad had a grim look on his face, but it also looked proud. I stood next to him holding my birthday present in my hands rather awkwardly. We were both wearing leather jackets and jeans, but I was smiling like an idiot.

Shaking my head, I cleared the memories. "Dumb stinkin' Dad…"

Quietly, I got ready, and then climbed in to the large bed.

" _Wednesday…okay I don't have work until two so that gives me about five six hours to clean that bedroom…and then I have to help Charity get her memories back and then send her away ASAP…and then…"_

I sighed. It only then dawned on me that I may be bighting of a little more than I can chew. I have to help a complete stranger get her memory back without a clue of who she is…and I have to do a job that takes up quite a bit of time…and I can't make trouble the entire time. Okay…this is going to get interesting.

After that conversation I leaned over and flicked off the light. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and I needed all the sleep I can get.

Narrator's POV:

While Ethan was drifting off to sleep, a certain purple hedgehog was sitting up. She stood up and looked in the window at the rouge reflection.

" _Purple fur? Yellow eyes? What bizarre looks…but it's mine."_ Charity turned in place then sat on the couch in a huff. Slowly, she laid down and tucked herself in.

No one heard the tune she started humming to herself as the confused girl fell to sleep.

 **Cosmo: What is going on?**

 **Me: Be patient!**

 **Cosmo: Patient? Where? *begins to look frantically for a patient***

 **Me: Um…okay then. Review! Review Re- Cosmo! Get away from DW!**

 **Cosmo: *guiltily begins to replace the gag***

 **DW: Someone call 91-! *voce is muffled by gag. Glares at Cosmo***

 **Cosmo: Sorry, but she kind of controls if I live or not.**

 **DW: *nods in an understanding way. Glares at me***


	3. Chapter 3

Charity's POV:

I choked on yet another dust cloud as Ethan dumped another box out into the trash.

"Sorry! It's just really dusty…"

"Noticed already…" I waved a feather duster in his face.

The boy just smiled grimly then went back to dumping boxes.

Most of the stuff in the boxes were just old figurines and packing peanuts, but every once in a while I found something that was worthwhile.

For instance: literally 30 minutes into cleaning, I found an old box of work clothes that were in pretty good shape. After I changed into something I wasn't afraid of getting dirty, we actually started to make a dent. That was two hours ago.

Ethan carried another load of empty boxes out to the backyard. When I had asked him what he was going to do with them, he simply replied with, 'firewood,' then went back to cleaning.

I sighed in frustration as opened yet another box. "I really hate-" my voice died in my throat. "Um…Ethan. Ethan? ETHAN!"

The poor boy came running into the room. "What's wrong?"

I frowned at him. "Um…why do you have this in a box, in storage?" I held up an almost new black gun.

For the briefest moment I saw a flicker of panic pass through the boy's eyes, but it was gone just as quick. I decided it must have been my imagination.

"Well…I got this house and it had these boxes in here when I got it. So I didn't know that was in there…" Ethan walked forward and scooped the gun out of my hands then disappeared out of the room.

Slowly, I got back to unpacking boxes and dumping them out. After another 45 minutes, Ethan finally came back in and took the remaining box shells out back. When he returned, he found I had already started to dust.

We worked in silence for another 30 minutes. Finally, just when I couldn't stand it anymore, the strange boy began to whistle a little tune. It was a happy tone and after a few minutes, without thinking, I joined in with humming.

We finished dusting and started to rearrange the scattered furniture. Another few minutes later, I found that the two of us were harmonizing in perfect sync. After we got bored with it, I started to hum a different song, and Ethan joined in after a few minutes with his whistle. The tunes continued to float around the room for the next hour and a half. After we the song ended we stared at the now clean and spacious room.

I smiled at my musical partner. "I think we did a good job."

Ethan's POV:

I nodded in agreement. _"I'd forgotten what this room looked like."_

The walls were white with a gray stripe in the middle running around the room. A large widow, now clean, faced the front yard and was lined with light gray curtains.

A bed was tucked in the corner with the white and gray bed spread and a small gray side table. A small white and gray dresser was on the same wall as the door with a small desk to its right.

Just looking at the clean room gave me chills. My old bedroom looked exactly the same…I just wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Trying to ignore the memories, I glanced at my watch. 1:45.

"Snap!" I yelped. Without any explanation I turned around and ran into my bedroom. Two minutes later, I ran out in my uniform.

Charity was sitting in the living room, waiting for me to come out. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to be late for work!" I hurried past her and grabbed my house keys. Just as I was about to leave, I realized…Charity would be here alone for almost nine hours. Okay…not happening. It wasn't that I didn't trust her…it was just…okay, I didn't trust her.

"You work?" the amnesia girl continued to stare at me.

I whirled around. "Of course I work. Everyone works." My brain wracked for someplace Charity could stay, but came up empty.

The girl shrugged. "Sorry, I really should have considered the fact that you had a job. What do you do?"

"I'm a bus-boy at a restaurant…" Who could take her for a little while…and maybe forever?

Excitedly, the hedgehog leaned forward a little. "Oh! I wonder if I worked. Well I obviously worked, but what did I do? Secretary, babysitter, taxi driver? Oh I really hope that it's not a taxi driver, who would want to do that for a living. Well I guess you would meet a lot of different kinds of people, so it would be exciting at certain points. But driving everywhere, ugh. No, I was not a taxi, bus, or driver of any sort."

Did she ever stop talking? That was the second time today she had started rambling…and it was already getting old. While she continued I continued to think about what I was going to do.

"…or perhaps I was an intern! Oh that would be great…but an intern to what? Maybe I was a librarian…all of those books with all of that history! Or maybe I was a waitress? What restaurant do you work for? Do you think I am a waitress? No probably not…maybe I'm a-"

I tuned her out after that. Suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. _Lightbulb._

"Charity, be quiet!"

The girl fell silent.

I gather my thoughts. "I can't leave you here for half the day, and there's no way I can afford to keep you alive. So how about you come with me to work? I'll talk to my boss about getting you a job. Then you can put in the income to keep you alive, and I don't have to worry about you breaking something in here."

Charity nodded then frowned. "What do you mean break something?"

"Charity…"

"Okay! Okay! I think it's a great idea!" she smiled at me with pure joy. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Alright then! Let's get a move on, or we're going to be late!"

When Charity moves, _she moves._ I was half running, half being dragged to work by a purple hedgehog. Made me wonder what the neighbors would say…

Ten minutes later, we stood outside the popular restaurant. The neon sign above the shop read

 _Chelsi's Fine Dining and Show_

I opened the door and lead Charity inside. "Well here we are. Now where is-"

"Ethan Levson! You're fifteen minutes late!" A black and white cat stormed up to me. Chelsi was wearing a bright pink t-shirt and black dress pants. Around her neck was a simple silver chain with a matching bracelet. Chelsi grabbed my arm and began to drag me across the floor.

"What did I tell everyone about coming late? Now you are needed at tables 4, 8, 11, 21, 27, 29, 33, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 55, 71, 72, 75, 79, 80, 82-"

"Chelsi!" I cut off my employer for the past five years. "First of all; I'm going to need a list! Second of all," I pointed to Charity, "I brought a potential employee."

The cat noticed the hedgehog for the first time. She scanned Charity quickly, then nodded slowly. "Alright, I'll see if I can use her. But you need to GET TO WORK!"

Chelsi could be temperamental, but she could also be really sweet…as long as you don't show up late for work. Without another word I ran to the kitchen, grabbed a tray, and then started the long hours of bus boy.

For the next two hours I watched Chelsi and Charity out of the corner of my eye, but wasn't sure how the amnesia girl was doing. Quietly, I prayed that she would get the job, just so I wouldn't have to take care of her as soon as she could afford rent.

Table after table, order after order, I hoped that the confused girl was doing well.

Charity's POV:

First impression of Chelsi; strict. The cat started with the whole list of rules that I would be following (if I got the job) then showed me what I was supposed to do during the day. Place orders, carry food, and keep the customers happy. She then put me on five tables for a dry run, _with actual customers._ Nervously but as confidently as possible, I did everything as good as I could.

After a few minutes I realized that a few of the hostesses were staring at me. Three of them, to be exact. They were whispering among themselves and kept glancing at me. Pushing them out of my thoughts, I greeted the next customer.

As the minutes turned into hours, I got the hang of balancing the food and greeting the customers. Soon, it felt as though I had been doing this for years.

When six o'clock came around, Chelsi pulled me aside. "You got the job. Arrive tomorrow with Ethan and we'll discuss the hours and pay. If any questions pop up, ask me or anyone else here. See you tomorrow."

The women walked away hurriedly to the back room. After she left, I exhaled deeply, then decided to stick around until Ethan came out.

After an hour, an orange colored fox walked over to me and sat down. I recognized him from the kitchen, but hadn't had time to talk to him.

He greeted me with a simple, "Name's Rusty."

"Charity."

Slowly, he nodded. "Let me just cut to the chase. You may want to watch your back."

"I beg your pardon?"

He nodded over to the three girls' that had been staring at me earlier. "See those girls?"

"Yeah?"

"You want to steer clear of them. If they feel that you threaten their job then you'll be fired before you can say, 'have mercy!'" Rusty shook his head in disgust.

I looked at him with doubt. "Is that so?"

He nodded, "Oh it's happened before. Just ask your boyfriend, he's seen it."

Slowly I realized he was talking about Ethan. I felt my cheeks turn red, "Oh! He's not my boyfriend. I barely know him!"

"Oh…I just assumed. Anyway, those girl's drive me crazy!" the fox grumbled. "They cheat and lie their way around and never leave any proof." He stood up and brushed some bread crumbs off his pants. "I just thought I should warn you. Good luck."

Rusty walked out the front door, leaving me pondering what to do about the troublesome threesome.

 **Shout out to Meadow for Rusty! Thanks!** **Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Okay we're just going to go straight to the story…after these short shout out's…**

 **DylanDamboise321: You're making me hungry! I love the metaphors! Can't wait to see your reactions.**

 **Christian Wolf27: I don't care if you use the *** can you please not do that? Just say dang or darn. Seriously…but other than that, thanks for the reviews.**

 **Meadow: I don't have horse's either. And that review made me think of a drama and I loved it. My mother thinks I'm crazy too, so welcome to the club.**

 **TheRealOTC: I said biting? You know what? Never mind. Sorry, I try my best, but there are a few typo's that slip through my fingers. As for Ethan…you don't know the half of it.**

 **DW: *starts struggling again***

 **Cosmo: Are you sure she'll be sane when she gets out?**

 **Me: Yes…probably…I hope so, or I am in so much trouble. Then again, she's never been completely sane…but if she got even more crazy…you know what let's just move on.**

Charity's POV:

Okay…for girls who work at a restaurant, they sure know how to play dirty.

My first month at Chelsi's went fine. Nothing bad happened, and nothing exciting happened. After the first week, Ethan and I fell into a routine.

Monday: I woke up at five, made breakfast, then started cleaning and fixing the house. Seriously, how did he survive? Half the furniture was falling apart, lots of water damage and an ant infestation. When I finally asked about it, he simply shrugged and told me he never had time for it. Then we went to work about one and got home around seven. After that, the two of us hit the hay.

Tuesday: repeat of the first half. Ethan left at 11 and came home at 3. I had work from 3 to 9.

Wednesday: repeat. I went to work at ten and got home at two. Ethan had the day off.

Thursday: repeat (again). I didn't have work so I worked at the house. Ethan left at 11 and came home at 6.

Friday: yep, another repeat. Ethan and I left at 11 am and came home at about 11 pm. (we had several hour breaks during the day)

Saturday: We slept in until nine, then went to work at one and came home at 11.

Sunday: NO WORK. Sleep all day and never leave the house.

Every spare moment, I worked on Ethan's house. Because he wouldn't let me pay rent, I decided to repay him by fixing up his house. He never complained, but never complimented either…so I was never sure how he felt about it.

During month two…that's when things got complicated. At first it was small things; my ordering book going missing, then it turning up in a strange place; my table's drinks getting mixed up, and a few other things.

Every single time, I usually caught one of the three head waitresses glancing my way.

There was Mandy the mouse, Pearl the hedgehog, and Laura the mongoose. Like a lot of 'mean girls' they were popular, fashionable, and sassy. After all of the strange stuff, all I got was Rusty walking by one day and mumbling, "Told you."

Finally, I decided I'd just ignore them and hope they'd go away. It didn't work

On a Tuesday afternoon during the seventh week of me working there, _someone,_ switched the salt for sugar.

Two days later, I delivered several wrong orders and later found out I had the wrong order book. After that, I had enough and marched up to Pearl and held out my hand, "Book please."

She just shrugged then smiled knowingly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Huffing and annoyed, I marched back to the tables and explained that I had misplaced my order book and their real food would be here shortly.

After the order book incident, I began to solely rely on my memory, and just carried the book for show. Two days later, as I was walking by Mandy, I felt my foot catch on something (like the mouse's tail) and tripped. Without thinking, I threw the food upward, straightened up and caught two plates with the tray in my right hand, caught the bowl of soup in my left, and the small dessert on my right knee. Carefully, I tossed the food from my knee onto the table it belonged too, set the soup down, and then slid the plates to their owners. Several people clapped and I took a fake bow.

The next day my uniform was found dirty and torn in shreds. Chelsi was not happy.

"What am I going to do?" I asked Rusty later during the lunch break.

The fox shrugged, "I've seen a many a girl's get chased out by those three."

"Then why doesn't Chelsi fire them already?"

"They've never been caught, and always have an alibi that can be confirmed by anyone they have on their blackmail list."

Slowly, I sipped the strawberry smoothie. In a thoughtful voice I asked, "So they like to play that way?"

"Yep, if you want advice, ask Ethan. He's been here the longest of all of us."

Turns out my roommate wasn't very informational. He wiped the glasses and turned towards me, "Only way to secure your job; get moved to the kitchen or tone down on the waitress performance."

"Tune down on the what?"

It was then I found out how well I was doing as a waitress.

I always greeted the guest's politely and with a smile and kept up that personality, no matter how cranky the customer was. All of the regulars' I remembered their names and what they usually ordered.

My favorite couple was Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery. These two rabbits were the two most likeable people I'd ever met. We eventually got to the point that I immediately brought their drinks as soon as I noticed them, then took their orders right there.

Another thing that put the three on edge was my perfect balancing. I never had spilled a tray or tipped a drink on to a customer and managed to keep everything in order. Finally, there was my memory. I rarely needed my pad to shout the order off to the cooks.

Unfortunately, all of these talents' made me a target for 'replacing' the girls…and they loved their status.

Ethan concluded with, "You are a dang good waitress, even Chelsi's impressed. And that just makes it more dangerous. So turn it down and maybe you'll survive." The dumb boy then shooed me away saying something about getting back to work.

So I was on my own…great.

After a lot of thinking and staying up late into the night, I finally came up with a plan.

" _All right girl's you want to play? I'll play your game."_

 **Okay, review everyone! You guys are amaze! I still need civilians! Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Meadow: I love your characters! Thanks!**

 **Christian: What did I say about the character novels? For civilians all I need is an age, name, and species, and maybe the personality. No back story, dislikes, or likes, etc. Thanks.**

 **OTC: Cliffhangers are fun!**

 **Dylan: I loved your review! It made me laugh so hard!**

Ethan's POV:

Charity was starting to interest me. Actually, that was an understatement. She was starting to become intriguing to me.

As the weeks turned into a month, the anesthetic girl continued to surprise and puzzle me. First there was the whole cleaning my house without asking.

Now don't get me wrong, I did like that the house clean and in tip top shape…it was just odd that she took it to a whole new level. The walls were repainted, the carpet's cleaned, and the entire house reorganized.

Then there was the fact that she was handy at the restaurant. Quickly, her excellent working abilities reached the ears of Chelsi. I was impressed myself at how quickly she caught on and how well she was with the customers…and I'd been here for five years.

The last thing was the miracle catch. While Charity had been catching food in midair, I had been cleaning a nearby table and had seen the experience firsthand. Startled, I had almost dropped the bucket of glasses, but managed to catch them at the last second. My brain had witnessed it, but was having trouble comprehending it.

Later, during work, I confronted Charity about it. "What the heck was that?"

She looked up from the stack of menu's she was organizing. "What was what?"

"The whole throwing food then catching it with your knees."

The hedgehog shrugged. "I don't know. It just felt natural…or maybe it was a lucky shot." She went back to organizing.

I nodded slowly in false agreement. "I guess…" After that conversation, I ran off to clean more tables, but couldn't help but think of the stunt I had just seen.

" _She has the reflexes of a cat! I haven't seen anything like that since…What if she's a-"_

"Ethan! Table 24 needs more water!" Molly, one of my oldest friends called as she passed by. That chipmunk was one of the most loyal and dependable friends I had made. Although, I still hadn't been able to introduce her to Charity yet…

Quickly, I shook my head, gathering my thoughts. _"No time for that now. Let's get the work day done then worry about Charity."_

Another thing that had grown over the weeks was my care towards the strange girl. True, I still wanted her out of my house, but I wasn't ready to kick her out quite yet. My judgement told me that the moment she could remember where she lived, then it was time for her to go.

Every morning, at breakfast, I had started questioning her about her past. Most of the answers were, "I don't know," but every once in a while we got a definite answer.

The Monday of the eighth week since Charity arrived; the said girl marched into the kitchen and sat down.

Without looking up from the book I was reading, I asked, "You look determined. Something I should know about?"

"Not necessarily…I just have a few goals that I hope to accomplish today."

This time I did look up, "They wouldn't have anything to do with your memory, would it?"

Slowly, Charity shrugged. "Um…not really. Besides, it will come eventually."

As I shook my head, Charity spooned up some cereal.

"If you don't try and regain your memory, then it will not come. Now, where were you born?"

The girl scrunched up her forehead in concentration. "Um…it was…it was…somewhere north?" She looked helplessly at me.

Once again, I shook my head, "Are you asking me, or telling me?"

Charity hung her head, "I don't know."

"Okay then, what's your mother's name?"

This time, the hedgehog closed her eyes and seemed to be meditating.

"I…I…I don't have…a mother…"

At these words, I almost dropped my spoon in shock. "You don't?"

Quickly, Charity nodded her head. "Yes…or at least I'm 99% sure I don't. It's not that strange to you, is it?"

This time, I looked down, "Um…no. I never knew my mother either…"

An awkward silence followed that sentence. After several minutes, Charity stood up,

"Well I should get to work." She walked out of the room into the basement to pick up where she left off on the carpet instillation…which had been brought in from the backyard and cleaned for days.

I stared at my cereal, which had now turned soggy from sitting there too long.

" _Okay then…progress on her past…and apparently my past."_

I sighed then glared at me in the reflection of my water glass. "Your goal is to get her past out into the light, not yours." I then stood up and walked into the backyard, trying to forget about all of the past troubles and worries.

Charity's POV:

Cleaning and installing carpet is _hard._ But it helped me think to myself. Over the past several days, I had been trying to rack my brain for anything about my past. So far I had come up with three things.

I didn't have a mother

I had quick reflexes

I had a really good memory…or at least a really good short term memory.

Not really helpful for figuring out my identity. So I was still lost on the whole, who am I, thing. The one thing I had been getting done was how I was going to take care of three waitresses…and that was beat them in their own game.

So around noon, I cleaned up, ate a quick lunch, and then headed over to the restaurant early. When I got there, Mandy, Pearl, and Laura were on break in the back room.

After checking to make sure everything was in place, I took a deep breath and walked in. "Hi!"

The three girls jumped in surprise, but quickly composed themselves. I pretended not to notice.

Pearl glared at me suspiciously, "What are you doing here?"

I smiled. "Oh I thought I'd come early and talk to you. Listen, maybe we got off on the wrong foot or I said something that offended you, but I was hoping we could start over." I put my hand out in a friendly gesture. _"Everyone deserves a second chance, so here's your chance."_

Mandy took the hand with a forced smile. "Why not? You seem like a nice enough girl."

The other two nodded slowly, but didn't smile.

" _Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you."_

I shrugged slightly. "Well, I'm glad. Hope we can become good friends." Without another word I turned around and left.

Looking at the clock, I quickly walked through the busy building, snuck out the back door, and sat down across the building on a nearby park bench. _12:23_ Right on schedule. Without trying to draw any attention to myself, I pulled out the old lap top I had found in one of Ethan's boxes in the basement. I had 'borrowed' it for the day. Quickly, I plugged the headphones in and connected to the listening device I had snuck onto Mandy while shaking her hand (the uniforms had long sleeves).

I had tuned in just in time.

" _-to friendly for my taste."_

" _You're right Pearl. I say we just get rid of her right here and now."_

" _And what do you suggest we do, Mandy?"_

" _I don't know Laura! I just carry out the plans, I don't come up with them."_

" _I got it."_

Slyly, I pushed the recording button and listened in on the troublesome threesome as they planned in 'secret.' I couldn't help but smiling.

"Serves you right for firing dozens of people…" I glanced at my watch. _12:52._ my how time flies.

Lucky for me, they were just wrapping up the diabolical plan…and that meant I wouldn't be late for work.

Ethan's POV:

I was running late for work, since Charity ran off without telling me. When I arrived, Chelsi yelled at me for a little bit, then put me to work. I noticed Charity out of the corner of my eye and smiled at her.

She smiled back then went back to the customers.

" _A true waitress…"_

At least that was one thing that I was pretty sure about. Now if I could just get her to remember her name…

My thoughts wandered as the hours began to slowly slip away…until four. When I saw Pearl and Mandy talking to Chelsi, I knew a storm was brewing.

Chelsi seemed perplexed and angry. She marched over to the cash register and opened it up with the two girls on her heels. Slowly, I saw her pull out and count every bill. She counted it three times then furled her forehead.

"CHARITY!"

Almost instinctively, I began to make my way to my boss, but stopped half way there. _"No need to draw attention to yourself…you can't do anything…"_

Reluctantly, I went back to work.

As Charity walked by, I glanced her way. She stared blankly ahead with no emotion. I felt my heart start to break…then shook my head. "What's wrong with me?" I mumbled to myself.

Chelsi and the hedgehog exchanged words then went to the back. I didn't see them again, until 30 minutes after closing time.

Chelsi came out and called for the entire staff of employee's to come to the front. "It appears," she began once we were all assembled, "that 50 dollars have gone missing from the cash register."

My fist's clenched up in anger, but held my tongue.

The cat sighed, "Did anyone forget or misplace the money?"

No one said a word.

Slowly, Chelsi sighed, "I guess then the case is closed." She told Mandy to fetch Charity.

The hedgehog came out from the back room with a triumphant expression on her face…which just confused me immensely.

With slow movements, my boss pulled out a 50 dollar bill from her pocket. "Where did you get this?"

Charity smiled. "Laura gave it to me."

The mongoose frowned. "That's a lie! You took it from the register and you know it!"

"No I didn't. I would never steal."

Mandy and Pearl stood off to the side with smug looks on their face.

Meanwhile, Chelsi frowned and shook her head. "Laura has worked for me for three years. Do you expect me to believe the word of a newbie?"

Quickly, Charity shook her head. "No ma'am. I never stole anything in my life…well mostly." She grinned, "What kid doesn't take candy without permission?"

Chelsi shook her head sorrowfully. "And I had such big hopes on you…"

Charity turned and caught my eye _and winked._

"Well ma'am. What if I told you those hopes were enough to scare three certain employees to frame me for theft?"

"I'd think you're a liar and a thief."

Charity slung her backpack off her shoulders. "May we go into your office?"

Chelsi hesitated. Without thinking, I stepped forward. "Chelsi, Charity has never lied to me about anything before. Hear her out, please."

In the back of my head I punched myself in the gut. _"What happened to not being noticed?"_

Slowly, Chelsi nodded and motioned Charity to follow her. After ten minutes of the two of them chatting, they came out to several employees lounging about lazily.

Two short and shrill whistles from the cat, and everyone was up. Chelsi drew a deep breath, "I've come to the final conclusion." She paused then continued. "Charity…will remain on the staff."

I sighed in relief. Mandy, Pearl, and Laura immediately protested, but were silenced by the next announcement.

"You three are fired."

No one moved. I stared in shock as the three most annoying, tricky, and selfish people stared helpless, and in disbelief.

After a moment of silence, Chelsi dismissed us. I walked out the door without looking back to see the now screeching girls who were trying to figure out what just happened.

Shortly later, Charity joined me. "So…how'd you like the show?"

I just stared at her, "How?"

"Well I barrowed a few things from your house and put them to good use. I hope you don't mind."

Slowly I shook my head in disbelief. "How did you catch them?"

The purple hedgehog laughed, "It wasn't that hard."

She went on to explain how she had recorded the three scheming and even managed to sneak a few pictures of Mandy pulling out the money of the register, and Laura slipping it into my apron when I was on break.

It was then I realized that this girl was clever and sly…which meant she might be…

Almost immediately, I felt my brain yelling at me to kick her out. But I knew I was just paranoid. I didn't want any of my past life to leak in.

When we got home, I told Charity I was tired, and was going to bed early. Without another word, I entered my room and stared at the picture on my dresser. My Dad with me…on my sixth birthday…with my present.

What had he gotten me? I walked over to the dresser and picked up the gun that Charity had found. Slowly, I ran my hands over the fine handle. Kind of a weird birthday present for any other six year old…but to me it was part of life. Slowly, I grabbed the family picture and pulled out the back, revealing the newspaper clipping from five years. The headline read in big bold letters:

 **Mercenary Matthew Lavarse Arrested by Team Sonic**

The picture underneath showed a mug shot of Matthew…my father.

I growled and shoved the back, back on. "If only I could forget…"

Without another word, I climbed into bed and fell into a restless night of dreams from the past.

 **Cosmo: Ethan's a mercenary?**

 **Me: Ex-mercenary. He was just a kid and didn't know any better.**

 **Cosmo: Oh…well everyone review please!**

 **Me: You're starting to get the hang of this.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Hope you are all enjoying this! I know I am. Okay…reviews.**

 **Christian Wolf27: Scratch the personality. I just got really confused…but I'll put the guy in…now let me think…**

 **Meadow: You're welcome! I'm trying to find places for your character's, and am finding it very easy. Thank you for keeping the character information organized. It makes my job so much easier.**

 **TheRealOTC: First Generation. Matthew was arrested by first generation. But I didn't mention that so I can see where it got confusing. Sorry about that.**

 **DylanDamboise321: No comment.** **Loved your review.**

 **OKAY EVERYONE thought I should mention; this story takes place a little bit after Nicole comes back to the Present. So we have most of first generation retired (except Shadow and Rouge). So second gen. is in charge of protecting the world and of course with GUN. Nicole's somewhere around here…**

 **Anyway, let's get this going.**

Charity's POV:

I hate Saturday's at Chelsi's. Especially at night, it gets really crowded. So there I was, the newly appointed head waitress dealing with the late night rush.

Since the head girls were out, suddenly, I found myself being talked to a lot more. The day after the whole incident, Ethan finally introduced me to his gang after work was over.

"Alright Charity, meet Molly the chipmunk, Smoky the cat, Periwinkle the squirrel, and Mack the dog."

I bowed my head towards the new friends. "Hello."

Molly smiled at me. "Hi! I'm so glad I finally get to meet you!" The girl looked friendly enough, with jeans and a forest green shirt. I could tell this gal was loyal to her friends, but seemed to be a peacemaker as well. Her amber eyes shone bright.

Over to the right, Smoky just nodded at me. A gray blue cat with a tan spot in his tummy, this guy seemed pretty anti-social. I'd seen him a few times in the back, but he never came out in the open eating area. So he was probably a hermit of sorts, but I couldn't really judge him for it. I felt like I could relate to him…but couldn't figure out how.

Over to the left, Periwinkle in a lime green shirt that had oil stains and darker green shorts. She had green and yellow shoes and blue eyes. At the moment, she seemed to be messing with a computer. Without even looking up, she simply said, "Hi," then went back to working. I guessed she was some sort of genius, since she did work the lights and sound for the performances at the restaurant.

Finally, there was Mack. The black and white dog seemed quite friendly, but talked in a quiet voice. "Hello, nice to meet you. Ethan has talked about you a lot." Nervously, he began to play with his leather vest.

At this comment, I raised an eyebrow at Ethan, who quickly blushed and changed the subjects. "Everyone, this is Charity. She's been staying with me for the past few months."

Mack smiled slightly, "That's how your house has become so clean."

Everyone started laughing and I became quick friends with all of them.

After the whole, head waitress incident, Chelsi had to find a new head waitress…and had decided to pick me. Ethan didn't even flinch when I told him.

"Well duh you were picked. Who else could she pick?"

Slowly, I began to run through names, while Ethan pointed out the flaws.

"Molly."

"Too shy."

"Periwinkle."

"She runs the light and sound board. What could she do?"

"Okay…how about-"

Ethan held up his hand. "Look, she picked you so stop complaining. You'll do great!"

Finally, I gave in, and as it turned out, he was right. After one week, I had changed quite a few things, and every single one of them improved the flow.

Then after three weeks, I had this 'great' idea. Every day, Chelsi hired someone to entertain customers, hence _Chelsi's Fine Dining_ _ **and Show.**_ She hired comedians, bands, talk show hosts, lecturers, musicians, dancers, and even a few acrobats. After months of these seemingly random acts I thought we should have a themed week.

As luck would have it, Chelsi loved the idea and set to work. Two weeks later, we had our first every themed week; Comedy week. It was so successful the first few days that several of our waiters had to sit down because they were laughing so hard.

Tips went up, and everyone was in a generally happier mood. But when word got around, the number of customer's went up, which meant…lots of work.

So there I was trying to not pass out and stay cheerful to everyone. And the guy on the stage seemed to be improvising.

Chelsi had become a little desperate for entertainers and had hired this guy pretty quick. He gave her a script and after a quick scan had hired him. Well I read through every single act so I wouldn't die of laughter while taking someone's order, and this guy was going off of it.

"So what is it with robbers these days?" Jackson asked the crowd. I couldn't tell if he was a lion or a gorilla, but had decided not to ask. "Seriously, it seems like they pick a random building and just decide to rob it. Oh look! A library! I bet it has a ton of overdue fees! I'm going to go rob it!"

Everyone laughed at his impersonation. Meanwhile, I had just seated the last customers of the night and decided to look over the script again.

The strange hybrid continued. "I'll get a million dollars off a Circle K! They sell all of those giant drinks! I'm going to rob it!" He shook his head. "Well at least they aren't on horses, shooting and hollering like Indian's." Jack began to hoot and yell, and then stamped his foot on the ground.

The crowd laughed. As everyone was distracted by the guy, I finally found the script and discovered the original topic had been Best Buy…why I don't know.

" _What is he up to?"_ I looked back towards the stage then shrugged off the feeling and started to clean up.

The comedian continued, "Then they go in the store in the weirdest ways. I'm here for milk; I'm not here to rob! The owner's might as well call the cops right there, because who buy's milk in a library?"

Okay, I had to laugh along with everyone on that one.

"Then they just strut around, with their gun right out in the open!" The guy pulled out a fake gun from his side bag and stuffed it in his pocket with the handle sticking out clear as day, and then jumped down from the stage and started strutting around the table's.

The crowd was laughing so hard. And he wasn't helping with the small calls of, "Oh don't mind me! I'm not doing anything illegal!"

After a minute he held the microphone up to his mouth again. "Then they do the dumbest things to the cash registers!" He marched up to the check-in stand and leaned against the counter directly across from me. Then in his most flirtatious voice proceeded, "Hey, if you corporate, I won't shoot you, because you're a cutie."

Everyone started laughing, but I looked him directly in the eyes. There was something wrong with them…

He then proceeded, "Then after a little flirting, then pull out their gun and yell at the top of their lungs, 'GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!'" and sure enough he slipped the gun out of the pocket and pointed it at me while he was talking.

Now everyone was holding their sides and several people were crying. Meanwhile I got a better look at this guy. His eyes were shifty…that's what was wrong…as for the gun…I felt my heart pick up as I realized it was not a fake.

Jackson just kept on talking, "Then the little lady just cooperates even though the library has several other people in the room. It's like they think it's a western show. The robber isn't even wearing a cowboy hat!" The lion…or gorilla, pulled out a canvas sack and gave it to me, then motioned to the cash register. Without another word, I emptied the register and gave him the bag.

All over the restaurant laughter filled the air, and no one seemed to notice the fact that he was actually robbing us.

"And then after they rob the place, they run out the door like a dog is chasing them! Like their feet are on fire! You know…they should just set their shirt on fire then run to the nearest lake! It would get them running real quick. Although the neighbor's would talk… 'Say did you see the guy with his shirt on Friday?' 'No, I was too busy watching a guy jump in the lake.' Then they would go to the library to pay their fines…exactly three dollar's in the vault now."

Everyone started cheering and laughing, while I just stood there trying to figure out what to do.

The gorilla/lion took a large bow then turned back towards me and smirked. Then I got angry. Nobody was going to steel from me or this restaurant. I smiled back and leaned forward.

"I'll take that money back now."

He lowered his voice. "I'd like to see you try."

I smiled again. The smile never reached my eyes. "Oh I will try. Let's see how long you'll have to stay in the hospital." I pounced.

The guy was so surprised; he didn't even raise his arms in defense.

I punched him directly in the face. Flailing his arms, he fell back a few steps. After recovering his balance, Jackson stood up, glared at me, and punched at me.

In a natural feeling, I caught his fist in motion and twisted around.

Five seconds later, I found myself pinning his left arm behind his back and holding his own gun to his head. I wasn't sure who was more surprised; Jack or me.

Quickly, I lead the robber into the back before to many people noticed. Ten minutes later, the gorilla lion found himself in a cop's car. Quickly, I leaned down to the window and smiled at him.

"Look on the bright side; you'll knock them dead with your comedy in prison. I have a joke for you; what happens when you cross a waitress with a robber?"

Before I could finish, Ethan pulled me away from the car. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. If he gets out early or just when he gets out, he'll remember your comments."

I shrugged. "Oh well, he'll have to deal with my fist's again."

I started laughing, but stopped when Ethan didn't join in. "What's wrong?"

Slowly, the hedgehog took my arm. "We need to talk."

 **The dreaded words! JK. Review! I'm going to need mercenary's RIGHT NOW. The wait is over! Can't wait to see what you've come up with! Try to keep it short, but it can be longer than a civilian.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey y'all! Thanks for staying with me for this long and I hope you continue! Okay reviews…**

 **Meadow: Thanks for the mercenaries and I'll see what I can do…**

 **DylanDamboise321: Thanks for the review! I loved it!**

 **Anyway, on to the story!**

Ethan's POV:

I was officially on guard. No more Mr. Nice guy. Charity was leaving; there was no way around it.

Unlike everyone else in the restaurant, I had actually seen the robbery and what had happened. Imagine my surprise when the purple hedgehog jumped and punched the guy. She had him pinned within fifteen seconds. I almost ran out the door right after that.

" _No, no, no! She can't be a-"_

I wouldn't let myself say it. So instead of running, I approached her after the day ended…just in time to stop her from saying something that may come back to bite. Now I was walking home at eleven o'clock at night with Charity talking non-stop…again.

"Now how did I do that? I mean, I just caught his fist, then suddenly, he was pinned and I had a gun in my hands! Do you think I'm a cop? That would be…interesting…" The girl put her hands out and did a front flip forward. She seemed to enjoy doing gymnastics while thinking…I noted that down in my head, and then shook my thoughts aside. _"You're kicking her out, no need to keep trying to figure out her past."_

Charity finally had fallen silent and had now completed two more front flips and three back tucks. Finally, she stood up straight and walked up next to me. "What's wrong?" She placed her hand on my shoulder in a comforting way. Electricity seemed to shoot out her hand and into me. Quickly, I shook her hand off.

"Charity…we need to talk."

She frowned, "You already said that."

"Right…look, you're a nice girl. And really good at keeping my house clean…and a good waitress…and-"

"Ethan just cut to the point. I can take it." The purple hedgehog looked across the street into the darkness.

That was another thing that fascinated me, she simply accepted her situation. When I realized she knew what I was going to say, I immediately felt ten times as worse. Rather reluctantly, I switched on the numbing trick my father had taught to me. It was really just a state of mind, but it made everything out of focus and made me act without feeling.

"You need to leave."

Charity nodded with acceptance. "I expected as much…" Without another word we continued the walk home.

On the inside, I was scolding myself for being so mean, but the other side just told me I was doing the best thing.

Just a few blocks from my house we were stopped by an old homeless badger.

"Coins, please, coins," he held out a tin cup. I walked by him like he was invisible.

However, Charity stopped and began to fish around in the purse that Molly had given to her two days ago. "I know I have some change…here we go."

Vaguely, I heard the clinking of coins hitting tin. Something inside of me felt like I had just been shot in the stomach (and I knew what that felt like). Feeling guilty, I pulled out my wallet and placed a ten dollar bill in the old man's cup.

The badger looked at me with these large eyes. "Thank you kind sir," he then shuffled off down the street.

Charity smiled at me, "That was nice of you."

Quickly I shrugged, "I just did it because you-"

"Hey old man!"

We hedgehogs looked behind us. Three people, a wolf, a bear, and a bobcat, had come out of nowhere and surrounded the old beaver.

Almost immediately, Charity surged forward. I grabbed her wrist and held her back. "It's not our fight. Stay out of it."

"He needs help! I can't just stand aside!"

"He's homeless; he's used to this sort of treatment."

"That doesn't make it right!"

I whirled her around so she was facing me. "He's just a useless guy! Just leave him!"

Charity gave me a glare. Her eyes shone with determination and hate. "Let me go Ethan," she threatened in a low voice.

Slowly, I loosened my grip then released her arm. Without another word, the purple hedgehog turned around and ran towards the group. "HEY! Leave him alone!"

I watched the confrontation from where I was standing. _"Leave her, just turn around and leave her right there."_ Reluctantly, I began to walk down the street in the opposite way.

A small shout/scream rang out, and I froze.

Without thinking, I turned around and ran back.

Charity was now on the ground with the bear getting ready to punch her again. In the background, the wolf was holding the old man's money while the bobcat was going through her purse.

The bear never saw me coming. I jumped on the guy and wrapped my arms around his neck. Unsuccessfully, he tried to throw me off. With a little prodding from my weight, I managed to slam the bear into the bobcat. I jumped off the guy before I hit the ground.

While the three were distracted, Charity got up and punched the wolf from behind. The guy cried out in pain, and crumbled after I grabbed him and punched him a few times. Jab, jab, hook, BAM! Order up; one unconscious dude.

Charity grabbed her purse and dusted herself off. "And lay off!" she told the three of them. After that, she knelt down and picked up the beaver's cup and handed it to the old man, who had been on the ground nearby. "Here you are."

The man nodded his gratitude and shuffled away. He didn't notice the ten dollar bill Charity slipped inside to add to his already clinking cup.

As we watched him shuffle down the street Charity began to talk. "The only difference between me and him is someone showed me kindness. I'd be that guy on the street if you hadn't taken me in and given me food, clothing, and shelter. So the next time you think someone is useless or has no purpose, think about tonight. You have to realize, we're all people. Not everyone is as lucky as you are and some just made poor choices in their lives that lead them to poor conditions. They aren't the bad guys…we are if we don't help everyone in need. It doesn't matter what they did or who they are, you help."

The old man was now out of sight, but I wanted to run after him. Offer him some food or something, just so I could feel like I'd helped him. "I never thought of it like that…"

"I know…" Charity placed her hand on my shoulder. "But know you do, and that guy is going to have a decent meal tonight."

Twenty dollars…he would have an amazing meal… I smiled in spite of myself. Without another word, we began to walk to the house. When we arrived, I stopped Charity on the porch.

"Listen…you don't have to leave."

She shook her head, "Ethan, I don't need to stay. I'll be fine on my own and I don't want to trouble you any longer." The girl paused then smiled. "Besides I've run out of projects to work on."

I smiled back. "And the house looks amazing. But I want you to stay…I have a feeling you can help me in more ways than one."

She smiled as well. "Well, if you're completely sure about this, then I'll stay."

Silently, I breathed a sigh of relief…

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

I felt my heart pick up a few beats. "Um…my Dad taught me."

"Was he into martial arts?"

"You could say that," I rubbed the back of my head nervously. Quickly, I changed subjects, "So where did you learn to fight?"

Charity frowned and closed her eyes in concentration. "I…I think…I think my Dad taught me as well…but I can't be sure."

I nodded slowly, but I really wanted to yell at her, _"Could you stop doing that? One minute I think you're a mercenary, then a normal civilian who knows how to fight, and know I'm not sure what to think!"_

But instead of yelling, I told her goodnight, and then rushed into my room and tried to calm my nerves. It didn't work.

 **Oh…closer and closer to the secret. What will happen?**

 **Cosmo: They knocked a guy out?! That is serious head trauma!**

 **Me: *rolls eyes* Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy the next chapter of this story! Okay, so comments:**

 **KrazyCat6167: You're fine. I wish I was that flexible as well. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Christian Wolf27: Maybe, maybe not. I'm seriously just going with the flow.**

 **DylanDamboise321: No Spoilers!**

 **Meadow: Uh what? Band? Explanation please.**

 **TheRealOTC: Thant made me laugh so hard. Thanks for that. As for the questions; maybe, yes, and _.**

 **Whew, that was exhausting.**

 **Cosmo: You just typed…**

 **Me: Maybe you aren't getting the hang of this. On with the story!**

Ethan's POV:

Okay…convincing Charity was easy, but trying to find out what she could teach me was a little trickier.

Next week, on Monday, we sat around for about two hours trying to figure out what to do. It got old pretty quick.

Finally, Charity stood up and stretched. "Okay, that's it. Get dressed in some workout clothes and meet me down stairs."

I looked up at her, "Why?"

She only smiled at me mischievously then walked into her room and shut the door.

So deciding I had nothing better to do, I did as the amnestic girl said. When I finally reached the basement, Charity was already down there warming up to some pop song from the radio.

Okay, when she re-did, she re-did. The basement was now a giant room with gray walls and a light gray carpet. Around the room was the old workout equipment that my father had gathered over the year. There were weight lifting stations, cycling, treadmills, and…a giant mat in the middle of the room.

As I examined the room, I happened to glance at Charity. Still dressed in my Dad's old work clothes…I really needed to take her shopping for something other than old work clothes. Suddenly, Charity flipped backwards and completed two back flips before landing directly in front of me. She landed softly, twisted her legs around and sat down in a crisscross formation, all in one fluid movement. "Ready?"

I just looked down at her and frowned. "Ready for what?"

Once again, she smiled at me. Slowly, she put her hand out for me to help her up. As I grabbed her hand, she jerked me down, flipped me over her head, and threw me to the ground.

Groaning, I sat up. "What was that for?"

The hedgehog stood up and smiled. "Lesson number one; a pretty face doesn't mean harmless."

I slowly felt the feeling of dread fill me as I realized what she had in mind. "Wait…you want me to spar…with you?"

Charity shrugged. "Yeah, is there something wrong with that?"

Deep down inside I wanted to run. _Nope…not showing her I know how to fight…then again she already knows, but I don't want her to know how well I can fight…and I really don't want her to know about my past…and I'm not sure if I want to know about her past._ But after a large debate in my head, I finally gave in. "I'm not very good."

"Well a fool could see that from the way I tossed you like that," the strange hedgehog turned on the music to one of the more popular songs, _Centuries_ **(Fall Out Boys).** After the music started, she got in a ready stance and attacked.

Once again, I was surprised at the ability of this girl. She was equal to an Eagle, but could be a Phoenix. Quickly, I shook that thought aside. _You don't know if she's a mercenary, so don't assume that she is…not matter how good of a fighter she is._ I didn't have time to continue my scolding to myself, because I needed every bit of concentration to not end up bruised and blue.

After an hour of fighting we took a lunch break. I sat down on the bottom stair, while Charity went up and made us a few ham and cheese sandwiches. We ate in silence, until the girl popped the question that I really was hoping she wouldn't ask.

"So how did you get this house?"

I stared at her, deciding to play dumb.

Charity continued, "Well you're what, 17? And that doesn't seem like the correct age to own a house."

Slowly, I shrugged, trying to pull all of the strings of thoughts together. "Well I don't own the house, my Dad does, but he's away…and won't be back for a long time…so I was an exception to CPS and somehow was able to remain here."

While I was talking, Charity had thrown away her paper plate and leaned against the punching bag in the corner of the room. "So why's your Dad gone? Business?"

I saw the hook and grabbed it. "You could say that. Business…so what about your memory? Anything coming back?"

Charity began to pound the punching bag. "Sort of…I think my Dad was always busy too…but I think he made time for me. I can see shapes, but no distinct color or face. Sometimes I have dreams…but they're just full of shouts, explosions, and gunshots. Nothing completely clear, which is really frustrating." She punched the bag really hard.

Slowly, I stood up and walked over to the bag. The girl was still pounding the bag with all of the built up anger. As gently as possible, I grabbed the bag to stop the swinging and Charity calmed down.

She leaned against the bag. "Sorry…I just get so frustrated sometimes. It's been almost three months. I just thought…I would have at least a name or face or something…and then I could I go from there." The poor girl sat down on the floor in exhaustion and defeat. Slowly, she looked up at me. "Do you think I'll ever remember?"

Without another word I knelt down next to her. "Hey, don't think like that."

Charity looked me in the eyes. "Well then what do you want me to think?"

Almost without thinking I replied, "I want you to know that no matter what happens, you'll always have someone who cares about you." Then I pulled her in to a hug.

Slowly, Charity began to cry softly. Meanwhile, I awkwardly held the poor girl with my heart beating twice the normal pace.

After a few minutes, the anesthetic pulled away. "Thanks Ethan," then got up and went upstairs.

I sat there for a few minutes then the reality of the moment sunk in. Wondering aloud, "What just happened?"

Okay so fact of the matter; I'm an ex-mercenary who has an anesthetic girl in my house who may also be a mercenary and I just promised I'd always be there for her. Then if it turns out she is a mercenary she will either turn me in or I have to kill her. Great…

With that noted down, I walked up the stairs slowly as possible. The two of us were already going to be late for work so why hurry.

One other thing kept bothering me…why did I say that? And why did my heart start to pick up every time I was around her?

I stared at my hands. If it came down to my life or hers…I didn't know who's I'd choose.

Charity's POV:

Amnesia is not fun. It gives you headaches, memory loss, and nightmares that never make sense.

It was now the Wednesday after the whole street gang incident, and I had been plagued by dreams ever since.

Now don't get me wrong, I had been having dreams before, but they were mostly blurs of people and just muffled voices. Unfortunately, during the street fight one of the thugs had thrown me to the ground, enough to make me hit my head pretty hard. I think that jar must have set things different.

The dreams were now mostly exploding buildings, gun shots ringing out and…that voice. I could tell it was male, but it was muffled. The only thing I could ever catch was something about, "Where are you?"

Yep…hate amnesia. So there I was, cleaning tables with Ethan at nine o'clock at night when Molly came running over.

"Hey, guess what?"

Deciding that I would never guess, I just asked, "What?"

The next message was very confusing to me, but Ethan got it pretty well.

"Chelsi has decided to have staff day this Saturday!"

"What? But we usually have it every six months, it's only been four!"

"I know, but business has done so well that Chelsi decided we've earned it!"

"That's great! What's the theme?"

"Medieval times."

I perked up at this, but was still confused. Ethan continued.

"So it's going to be dress up and fancy diner…great…"

"Oh smile you. It will be amazing! I've already told Smoky, Rusty, and Periwinkle that we're all going shopping for it Friday morning. Can you two make it?"

Slowly, Ethan nodded. "Yeah we can. Can't wait!"

Molly nodded vigorously, "Well I'm going to spread the happy news!" She hurried on.

After she left, Ethan wiped his hands on his apron. "Well that will be fun."

Finally I couldn't stand it anymore, "What is a staff day?"

Startled the brown hedgehog looked up, "I keep forgetting that you haven't been here for long."

With a sigh, I motioned for him to continue.

"Well staff day is sort of like a giant reward for the staff. The restaurant is closed the whole day to the public, but the staff comes around ten. Then we spend the whole day playing games and doing other fun activities. After the day events, we all sit down to a fancy dinner and show. There's always a theme."

Slowly, I nodded with comprehension. "So this time it's a medieval theme this time?"

"Yep, meaning we get to go shopping for ridiculous clothes…"

I elbowed him. "Oh stop complaining, it will be fun!"

"Glad you think so."

I rolled my eyes then finished cleaning the tables. "Well, I'm done here. Ready to head home?"

With one finger pointed at me Ethan shook his head, "Remember it's my home, not yours."

"Whatever."

The two of us shared a smile and left the restaurant with the banter continuing.

 **Next chapter: shopping!**

 **Cosmo: *looks around* okay seriously, where's Nikki? She would say something like, 'I hate shopping.'**

 **Me: Um... everyone review!**

 **Cosmo: Are you going to answer?**

 **Me: PATIENT!**

 **Cosmo: Where?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Miss me? Sorry I haven't been able to post as much, but I've been busy (I'm in the middle of moving). So my updating will become pretty random. Sorry! Okay comments:**

 **TheRealOTC: I hate shopping too, but this will be interesting. Trust me.**

 **Christian Wolf27: I have seen a few episodes, but not enough to know their names. Sorry.**

 **DylanDamboise321** **: I love your reviews. They make me smile! I can't tell you to much but you said she seems familiar? She's not related to Burn…sorry. Burn will be returning, just not in this story. But you're going to see a familiar face very soon (not Nicole. Sorry)**

 **Meadow: I love those songs too! I am trying to figure out how to put Immortals in…Thanks for the review!**

 **Okay. We can go now.**

 ***DW starts to struggle with her bounds again.***

 **And if you're wondering where Cosmo is, she's a little busy. On with the story!**

Charity's POV:

I learned something new about myself. I HATE shopping.

"Are we there yet?" I groaned for the millionth time.

Almost in unison, everyone in the car yelled, "NO!"

I sighed and crossed my arms. Currently, I was sitting smashed in the middle seat in the back a very small car. On my left sat Ethan, to the right was Rusty, Molly was driving and Periwinkle was in shotgun. Outside the car, Smokey was on his motorcycle behind us. We had been driving for almost two hours.

"Remind me again why we're going all the way out here?"

A small sigh came from Ethan. This time, Rusty explained.

"Our town is very small, so you want to go shopping for something very specific, you need to go out of town to the nearest mall, which is two hours away. Now stop complaining and sit tight." For a fox, Rusty sure could be grumpy…

Up front Periwinkle and Molly were arguing.

"I'm telling you, if you rewired the engine to the battery, then this old car would run a lot smoother."

"And I'm telling you, this is my Mom's car. You want to rewire it then you need to ask her."

Silently, I chuckled. This car could use a little rewiring. A very old red Camry held the five us as we bumped down the road and I was shocked it was still running. The argument continued until we finally pulled into a large parking lot.

Okay…maybe a it was a little bigger than 'large.' Picture a lot like you would see at the biggest event you can think of and multiply it by ten. That should give you a vague idea at what it looked like. And the cars there were diverse and strange. At one point I saw a car that was even more run down then ours parked next to…was that an army truck?

Correction, a GUN truck…whatever that was. As we pulled into a parking spot, Ethan was already opening the door and getting out. We came to a stop and I pulled myself out.

"Really? You couldn't have waited a few more seconds?"

The brown hedgehog looked at me with wide eyes. "Are you kidding? That ride was worse than the last one!"

Smokey walked up from wherever he had parked. "And that's why I take my bike."

That was the last un-related shopping sentence for the next two hours. I found myself pulled along by the girls into department stores to try on every single piece they could find. Turns out Ethan had asked them to help me move my wardrobe away from work clothes…

Shirts, skirts, shorts, and pants flew through the air as Molly continued to find and buy several outfits. When I finally told her I couldn't pay for all of this, she simply replied,

"Well duh! I'm paying for it and I won't take no for an answer! My parents are loaded and they always send me a ton of money for clothes! I barely use any of it and honey, you need a new look!"

So while us girl's looked at clothes, the boys went to look for costumes. Unsurprisingly, they found them within ten minutes and purchased theirs five minutes later. Meanwhile, I was still being used as a giant Barbie doll.

"Too plain…too ugly…too puffy…not cute enough…" Molly was now trying to find the perfect outfit for every other day. She explained, "This is the outfit that you wear everyday that isn't special. You buy the same shirts and pants and everything to wear. It's the 'thing' I guess you could say."

"Like the fact that you always wear that shirt?"

Molly glared at me then shoved another outfit and me into the dressing room.

As I put on the clothes I called out, "If this is for everyday, what are the other hundred clothes for?"

"Special occasions. Like dates. No stop changing the subject and come out!"

Very reluctantly I came out of the room again. The chipmunk had me turn slowly while she looked at me from every angle.

Finally, Molly sighed, "One last thing, do you like these clothes?"

"I haven't even seen them."

"But I gave them to you!"

"Well I stopped paying attention after the first two outfits."

Molly rolled her eyes. Quickly, she shoved me towards a mirror. "Well darling, what do you think?"

Moving very slowly, I examined the outfit. It was a yellow silky shirt that hung down loosely with a thin light gray belt across my waist. With long gray pants that were not too tight but not so loose that they were going to sag down. I had a matching yellow head band and the shoes were yellow flats. In other words…a lot of yellow.

Molly came and stood next to me. "What do you think? I also think this skirt could replace those pants." She held up a gray and black checkered skirt that came to my knees.

I stared at the skirt…gray and black…black…my brain was struggling for something that was important, but it couldn't hold on. Without thinking I frowned.

Unfortunately, Molly took that as a no. "Alright on to the next outfit!"

I quickly threw up my hands. "No! I like this, I really do. It looks nice and seems…I don't know…me?"

The chipmunk smiled big. "Oh I'm so glad! Now on to the princess dresses!" All around me, all the girls squealed in excitement

I groaned. "More shopping?"

Periwinkle laughed. "Don't worry; I'm not a fan either. But costumes are a lot more fun than this, trust me."

As it turned out, Periwinkle was right. The costumes were a lot more fun, and I actually got to pick something out. Unsurprisingly I was the first one done. Molly did not like my choice.

"But it's so…gray."

I held up the flowing gray dress to me. It was rather plain, with no design on it, unlike the many other dresses. "Well, I'm getting it. So stop complaining."

"Fine, but I think it's so…plain."

Quickly, I shooed her away then purchased my dress. As quickly as possible, I ran out of the store to join the boys. I found them at the food court eating sandwiches. In a very un-lady like manner, I plopped down in a chair and crossed my arms.

"I hate shopping!"

Ethan looked up in surprise. "I thought all girl's like shopping."

"Well this one does not!" I pointed at myself and glared at him.

Over to the left, Smokey and Rusty started to snigger. Without really thinking, I turned toward them and smiled. The smile didn't reach my eyes.

The two stopped almost immediately.

"What's so funny?"

In perfect unison, the two boys replied, "Nothing."

Then Ethan started to laugh. I turned my withering stare to him, but he just laughed harder. Quickly, his laugh became contagious and pretty soon all four of us were laughing. After a few minutes we finally calmed down.

Rusty leaned back, "Whew…I haven't laughed that hard in forever. Anyway, Smokey and I are going to go look at the gun shop down the way. You two want to come?"

Immediately I perked up. "I'd love too!"

Over to my right Ethan glanced at me nervously, "Um…sure…why not?"

We stood up and carried our bags down the aisle. All the while, I noticed Ethan looked very uncomfortable. I leaned over to him, "Is something wrong."

Startled, he looked up at me, "It's nothing. Just some old memories coming back."

Frowning, I pulled back. I never understood this guy. There was something he was hiding…I knew there was. But I just couldn't-

"Ah, here we are! _Emily's Gun Shop,_ one of the best shops here."

For a Gun Shop, this place sure had a lot of other weapons. I saw swords, knifes, throwing stars, staffs, bows, you name it, it was probably there. The store was covered in cases, all holding several unique weapons. Up front were the knives and swords and a few other small weapons, all beautiful and polished perfectly.

But the real beauty was the guns in back. Pistols, rifles, and even a few machine guns lined the cases. Several antique guns lined the back wall showing how far the world had come just in the making of guns.

Standing behind the counter was a young rabbit. With a smoky purple dress and mauve shoes she certainly looked friendly.

As soon as she saw Smokey and Rusty she called out to them in greeting, calling each by name.

Rusty took the introductions and I soon found out that this rabbit was in fact the owner, Emily…and she knew how to talk.

"How nice to meet you! I'm Emily and I love making new friends. Do you like my gun shop? It's been in the family for generations and well I grew up working here. Isn't it amazing? What's your favorite weapon? I love the swords, especially the antique swords. That one over there was found in an expedition in London, probably from the mid-evil times. It was so rusty that you couldn't tell it was a sword but my great grandfather polished it up and ta-da! True it doesn't look brand new, but it looks a lot better from when it first came here. I also love that sword over there. It's from the Japan and as you can tell, it's a Samurai sword and-"

As you can guess this rant went on for about ten minutes, with Emily asking question, then barging ahead with the answers. Personally I found it all very fascinating and wanted to know everything about all the antique weapons. We two girl's chatted (or in my case listened) about the weapons, while Ethan began to wander the room rather aimlessly.

Finally, Emily noticed the poor boy and pulled me over next to him. "You have exquisite taste sir."

Ethan was now examining a gun that was in a wall case off to the side, which was a little bit confusing since it certainly didn't look like an antique. In fact it looked a little bit familiar…

Emily interrupted my thoughts. "That is the top of the line G-32 six-shot pistol. It's one of the finest guns in this shop."

Ethan looked it over for quite some time while Emily rattled on about why it was top of the line.

I finally interrupted her, "Why is it on a wall if it's modern gun?"

Slowly, a smile spread across the girl's face. "Why it's for publicity of course. Shadow the Hedgehog, the top agent of GUN, uses this very gun! He comes down here every once in a while to get it cleaned and checked."

Ethan grunted. "Why doesn't he just have GUN do it?"

The rabbit laughed, "Well, he likes to come down here and look at the other weapons, silly! I've told him all about our antique weapons and every time a new one comes in, I tell him all about its history. Why, he's even brought in a few guns himself! Shadow is-"

I didn't hear the rest of the conversation. Somehow I was having a hard time picturing Shadow the Hedgehog standing here getting his ear talked off.

After almost an hour, we managed to get away from Emily, promising we would come back someday.

Ethan looked at the clock and gasped. "Look at the time! We need to go!" Quickly, the four of us hurried down the aisle toward the costume shop. I couldn't help but looking at the display windows that lined the giant aisles.

Suddenly, I froze in front of one of the shops. I'm not exactly sure why, but the televisions in front caught my eye. I walked up to the glass and squeezed my through the all ready gathering group of people. When I finally got up to the front I could barely hear the news report.

"And we're coming live from Washington DC where Team Sonic is racing against time to rescue the president, who was taken hostage three hours ago."

The reporter stood directly outside the fence of the massive building. In the background you could see a lot of GUN soldiers standing at attention on the enclosed grass area. In the middle of the soldier's stood a very familiar hedgehog. Shadow was barking undistinguishable orders to the lined up troops. He looked very tense.

Also milling about the soldiers was Team Sonic…or Team Sonic Two. I could make out the speeding blue hedgehog near his hammer-swinging sister. To her left stood a certain echidna with his little sister the jewel steeling bat, who appeared to be very bored and wanting to be elsewhere. Standing over by Shadow was the smallest Prower, who seemed to be helping with the orders. On the very edge of the troopers, was the eldest child of the famous Tails, who seemed to be helping with medical equipment.

I had completely toned out the reporter and stared at the team milling about. My focus snapped back on the reporter as she continued,

"-seems that Nicole the Hedgehog, the second clone of Shadow the Hedgehog, is still missing while the elder clone is still in rehabilitation and therapy from the unfortunate incident almost a three and a half years ago. When Shadow was questioned about his missing clone, he simply replied with, 'She's on a mission.' He refused to go into details about this so called mission, but since GUN has not launched a search for her, we can only assume that she is safe."

"The situation at the White House seems to be turning to the worse and the ten million dollars demanded in return for the president's life, seems to be our only option out of this crisis."

I didn't get to hear the rest of the report, because a certain brown hedgehog pulled me out of the crowd rather roughly.

"Come on! We're going to be late!"

Almost gushing out information as fast as Emily, I replied, "The President's being held hostage! Team Sonic is trying to save him, but they aren't doing so well."

Ethan just looked at me. "Knowing them, I'm sure he'll be fine. We can listen to it on the radio as we drive, but if we don't head off soon, it's going to be dark by the time we get home!" He quickened the pace and continued to drag me along, but he couldn't hold me forever.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a machine shop and couldn't help but wiggle free and dash inside to browse. Reluctantly, Ethan followed me inside.

I examined a small watch on display. "Look Ethan! This watch was made by Miley Prower!"

Impressive and expensive, this watch was built with a holographic projection device that could pull up 3D images of buildings, maps, and a few other things.

The hedgehog didn't look interested. "It's just a cool watch. Can we go now?"

"What do you mean you don't have electrical interface mini microchips? That's the last part I need for this new creation!" A shouting voice came from the customer help counter.

I peered around the counter and stared at the large man. Did he have a metal suit? And what was with the bright red hair?

The man behind the counter was shaking ever so slightly, "I'm sorry, but we just ran out. But we have a new stock coming in three days, and I can have them shipped to you."

The man seemed to calm down at that, "Alright then, I'll take the whole order."

"The WHOLE order? You want one-hundred of those little guys?"

With a smile that told me, crazy man, the stranger nodded. "Yes, and I'll pay just as much as you did on the order."

"That'll be 1,236. 32."

Without any hesitation the man pulled out his credit card and paid the bill. He turned around and began to walk in Ethan and my direction.

Quickly, I stepped out of the way. This guy did not look like someone to mess with. As he was walking by, the man happened to glance at Ethan and I. He continued to walk then did a double take.

We stared back at the strange man in complete silence. After what seemed like hours, he began to laugh ever so slightly. Then, after regaining his posture, he looked me directly in the eyes,

"You grew out your hair. I like it, but I think I preferred your old haircut."

I stumbled back in confusion. "You…you know me?"

"Of course I know you! True, you were a little hard to recognize, but I'd recognize you anywhere! Where have you been?"

A little too eagerly, Ethan stepped forward and talked excitedly, "You know Charity? That's great! You can help her remember everything then she can go back to her old life and…" He trailed off and looked at me, "Not that having you is so bad, but I want you to be happy and-"

I cut him off. "Doesn't matter. Sir, could you please tell me who I am?"

At first the stranger (or familiar person apparently) just stared at the two of us. He then began to laugh again after several minutes he finally calmed down. "You…have amnesia. That's a hoot! And Charity? What a cute name for a very un-cute girl!"

Impatiently, I tapped my foot. "May I ask for your name?"

"Of course. It's Ivan. Ivan Robotnick."

Over to the side, Ethan took a step back. "I've heard about you. You're the clone of Dr. Eggman. But how do you…"

"…know a girl such as her?" the scientist finished. "Well that's a long story. It all started when…wait a minute…" Ivan trailed off in thought then got this evil grin on his face. "I'm not going to tell you!"

In unison, Ethan and I both cried, "What?"

Now the scientist was pacing in excitement. "I'm not going to tell you…it may get me in trouble later but it's so worth it. You having amnesia will defiantly be one of the funniest moments in my life."

Now in a rather bad mood, I growled, "And what if I never get my memory back?"

Ivan shrugged. "Well I'll tell you what. In one year's time, if you don't have your memory back, I'll send you down the right path to the right people. But until then, you're just going to have to figure it out."

He chuckled rather evilly, "In fact, you'll see me around, Charity. I'll be watching you, just to see how you're doing." After he finished that fun conversation, Ivan walked out the door, mumbling to himself.

Ethan and I were so shocked we just watched him go. After a few minutes had gone by, I finally spoke up.

"Well…that was…disappointing."

My companion nodded. "The nerve of some people!"

At this comment I raised my eyebrow, "That's coming from a guy who tries to get rid of me every other week and ignores homeless guys in need."

Ethan opened his mouth to protest but no sound came out. Slowly, I rolled my eyes. "Come on you little hypocrite."

Rather reluctantly, the boy followed me out to our friends who were already waiting in the car. I threw my plain dress into the back with all the other clothes.

As everyone got in the car, Molly asked, "Where were you two?"

Ethan didn't answer, but looked out the window. Deciding not to tell them about the whole amnesia thing, I simply replied, 'Turn on the radio."

Almost as soon as we did, the news story about the President popped up. We all listened in silence all the way home. Even after we arrived at Molly's house, we all sat in the car until the crisis had passed.

I won't go into details, but let's just say a certain bat somehow snuck in and out with the President then the rest of the Team took down the villains.

By the time that was over it was eight o'clock at night. Ethan and I waved to our friends then headed down the street in silence.

After almost half of the journey had passed before he finally spoke. "So…that was a letdown today."

Slowly, I nodded. After another break for silence, I asked the question that was on the top of my mind, "How do I know the evil Dr. Eggman's twin?"

Ethan looked at me, "Maybe you met him at a Robot convention," he sounded like he was trying to assure himself more than me.

I couldn't blame him there. First the fighting abilities, now this? Who am I…and if I ever find out, whose side am I on? And if I'm on the wrong side, could I go back? Or would I go back to doing whatever I did and have to hurt Ethan for helping me?

Without realizing it, I shivered. The brown hedgehog must have noticed.

"Hey, everything's going to be okay. You'll see."

I just nodded in reply, but couldn't help but notice that it still sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince me.

That night, I didn't sleep well. My dreams were filled with gun shots, Ivan, and killer robots with me right in the middle of them.

 **Sorry it's so long, but I thought it would help make up for the late update. Next chapter: the staff day. Yea! After that, we're going to talk about school (I literally just realized that Ethan and Charity are not old enough to be graduated…I'm going to have to do something about that…) And then…well you're just going to have to wait**

 **I still need MERCENARIES. And I need them pronto. Because I can't just throw them in last minute. It takes time to incorporate people into the story. So if you have an idea, or even just a name and species, I'll take it! Just don't send me a novel…I hate Character Novels…**

 **REVIEW PLEASE!**

 **Cosmo: Saving a President from a mad man is NOT fun.**

 **Me: And this is why you aren't a full member of Team Sonic.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Bit lazy, so we're just going to comment, then jump right in.**

 **Meadow: Glad I did her perfectly! Thanks!**

 **Christian Wolf27: Good to know**

 **DylanDamboise321: I'll PM you.**

Ethan's POV:

When Staff Day came around, I was so relieved to finally get a brain break. First the whole Ivan thing freaked me out as it was. Then it just got more confusing.

While Charity and I had been cleaning out boxes, I had found my mother's old sewing kit and given it to Charity out of gratitude for helping me clean. Well the day after the shopping trip, after breakfast, the strange hedgehog had gone into her room and hadn't come out.

I decided to ignore her and went into my room to try and straighten up my composure. I was still shaken from yesterday. Going into a Gun Shop brought back some bad memories of going 'shopping' with my father. It involved Dad being the distraction and me being the thief…defiantly not my fondest memory with my Father.

On top of that, I was still creped out by the fact that Charity was actually interested in weapons. And that smile she had given at Rusty and Smokey scared the heck out of me. There was too many issues to keep track of.

After an hour, I decided I was finally calm enough and began to make my way downstairs.

The sound of someone singing stopped me right outside Charity's door. The voice was soft, but sweet and found myself entranced for a few minutes. After the moment had passed, I softly creaked open the door and peered in.

Charity's back was to the door which helped me not be heard by her. In an almost heavenly voice, the anesthetic girl sang a song I'd never heard before.

 _ **Song: This is Me**_

 _ **Artist: Demi Lovato**_

 _I've always been the kind of girl  
That hid my face  
So afraid to tell the world  
What I've got to say  
But I have this dream  
Right inside of me  
I'm gonna let it show  
It's time to let you know  
to let you know_

 _This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let the light shine on me  
Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me_

 _Do you know what it's like  
To feel so in the dark  
To dream about a life  
Where you're the shining star  
Even though it seems  
Like it's too far away  
I have to believe in myself  
It's the only way_

 _This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let the light shine on me  
Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me_

As she was singing, I noticed that Charity was bent over the plain gray dress with a needle and thread. With delicate movement's she embroidered white thread over the plain skirt, decorating the dress with flowers and vines.

Without realizing it, I had actually walked into the room most of the way and stood not five feet away from the unsuspecting hedgehog. Suddenly, she looked up and smiled at me.

"How long have you been there?"

I shrugged. "Not sure. I heard music and decided to investigate." Gently, I sat down on the bed next to her. "What are you doing?"

"Embroidering. What else would I be doing?" She knelt back over and began to stich something into the skirt.

Slowly, I let out a sigh. "I know that, but why are you embroidering?"

"Because when I saw this dress in the store I immediately liked it and decided it could do with a little more…flare."

"Flare?"

"I think I've been talking to Molly too much."

I nodded. "That does sound like something she would say."

Charity looked up and smiled. "Anyway, I'm almost done. Why don't you head down stairs and we'll practice before work?"

In other words, leave me alone. Shrugging ever so slightly I began to make my way out of her room, but couldn't help but call over my shoulder to her. "You have an amazing singing voice."

The rest of the day was uneventful. Work went on normally and nothing blew up in the kitchen (don't ask).

After a night of strange dreams and nightmares, I awoke to the long awaited Staff Day. Maybe I acted a little bit like a school boy, but I couldn't help it. Staff Day was always a blast…even though some of the themes were a bit strange. (We once had a Zombie Apocalypse night…not my fondest memory since I couldn't sleep well for two weeks afterwards)

Besides the fact that I always had fun, there was another reason I was a bit rushed. Chelsi had asked me to entertain during the night show and I wanted time to practice in the morning. The only bad thing about the whole entertaining was…

"Ethan…you look ridiculous." Charity had just stopped her enormous laughing fit that had lasted about five minutes and pointed out the obvious.

Medieval times…entertainment…I had to be dressed as either a jester or a minstrel. Jesters had those annoying bells so it had automatically fallen to the minstrel costume which consisted of giant red and white striped pants, red tights, a red tunic, and a funny little red hat with a white feather sticking out of it. Yep…ridiculous seemed like the perfect word to describe this outfit.

Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same about Charity. She looked like a princess with her long flowing gray dress. The embroidery was strange in itself, with flowers and vines, but they were random with no pattern at all. If I looked at it closely, the seemed to form shapes of figures or items that made no sense. Her hair was pulled up in several braids that were wrapped around her head like a crown. In other words, she was _beautiful._

I quickly shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "Well thank you Miss Obvious. Can we go now?"

My friend just smiled at me and nodded. Without another word we walked out to the curb where our friends were waiting. Every single one of them burst into fits of laughter when they caught sight of me.

Of course none of them looked weird. Smokey looked like he was a blacksmith, Rusty had dressed as a rich Lord of the land, Periwinkle was a servant girl, and Molly was a very rich and very fancy Countess (her dress looked way too big to be legal)

"Oh laugh it up! But there's a reason!"

Periwinkle continued to laugh, "Are you going to play us a song Mr. Minstrel?"

This comment brought on another wave of laughter, which I rolled my eyes at. Charity finally stood up straight and we climbed into the car. Ten minutes later we arrived at the restaurant. Luckily for me, there were a few other jesters and minstrels so no one laughed too hard at my costume.

Besides, everyone was too busy gawking at the restaurant. The main eating area (the area nearest to the stage) now had many long narrow tables lining the entire area with one table placed higher up in the back (the High Table). In the off eating areas, the tables had been cleared and where there were now many booths (shops) to go to. There was the blacksmith, the baker, the jeweler, the merchant, the book keeper, and several other little shops you would have found during the time period.

First thing we had to do was sign our names in a book with what we were dressed as. I was the last of the group and couldn't help but smile at my friends signatures.

 _Countess Molly  
Lord Rusty  
Serving Girl Periwinkle  
Blacksmith Smokey  
Lady Charity  
Minstrel Ethan_

After that the day started with one of the head waiters coming on and reading 'Queen Chelsi's' proclamation to the crowd. It went something like this,

"Hear ye, hear ye. The Magnificent Queen Chelsi announces that this day is a day of celebration. She proclaims that every man, woman, and child rest and enjoy this wonderful day. Each person of any status will be given their pay today to use at any shop or place as they please. At high noon, a light lunch will be served to every citizen attending the fair. After the lunch, the jousting and duels will be held out in the castle courtyard which will last until the sunsets. Then, everyone is invited to a grand feast and show with the Queen and her children. Let the festivity's begin!"

Everyone cheered then pushed forward for their week's pay. Sure enough, every booth had some sort of fun activity to do and at least one thing to buy. The day flew by and pretty soon the jousting and duels had begun. They took place out back in the fenced off part of the parking lot.

Several demonstrations later, they asked for volunteers from the audience. Many boys stepped forward and every one of them failed at defeating the demonstrator. After many failed attempts the demonstrator got a little cocky.

"Come along! Does anyone dare challenge the Unbeatable Black Knight?" The man waved the practice sword in the air in his challenge. No one dared to try again…well almost no one.

Out of the blue, Charity stepped out and called for a practice sword. Everyone started laughing, but she looked determined to go through. Secretly, I was laughing on the inside, not at Charity, but at the man's puzzled expression at a girl challenging him.

But he must have decided nothing could happen and accepted the challenge with a full belief that he would win. Boy was he wrong. Let's just say that he didn't last ten seconds. One second the two of them were in the ready position; the next Charity was on top of the guy with his sword in her hand.

The rest of the day, everyone steered clear of the purple hedgehog, which made everyone in our group laugh.

When the Grand Feast came around, we found out who the 'children' of the Queen were. They were the top two employees of the month, which turned out to be Rusty and Charity. It was pretty funny to watch them sit in thrones up there with the 'Queen' and little crowns. But at least they had dressed the part.

After a delicious dinner of chicken, salad, and rolls, the entertainment began. First were the jesters, who acted more like clowns with their juggling act and falling down. They were followed by a comedian who told riddles about Kings and Lords.

The following half an hour was one of the most embarrassing and the most fun moment of my life. I sang like a fool (which was kind of true) and had one of those old guitars which I strummed along on. And to top it all off, I told jokes and danced…yep.

After my very interesting performance, the Queen came on the stage and announced in a very commanding voice, "We're going to leave the whole theme for just a moment and have Ethan perform something a little more in his comfort zone."

Very reluctantly, I grabbed my acoustic guitar and began to strum. I already knew that Chelsi wouldn't take no for an answer so I began to sing.

 _ **Song: God Bless the Broken Road (Acoustic Version)**_

 _ **Artist: Rascal Flatts**_

 _I set out on a narrow way many years ago  
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road  
But I got lost a time or two  
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through_

 _I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you  
That every long lost dream lead me to where you are  
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars  
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms_

 _This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you  
Yes it did_

 _I think about the years I spent just passing through  
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you  
But you just smile and take my hand  
You've been there you understand  
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true_

 _Every long lost dream led me to where you are  
And others who broke my heart they were like northern stars  
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms  
This much I know it's true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you  
Yeah_

 _And now I'm rolling home  
Into my lover's arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you _

_That God blessed the broken road  
Ooh, ooh  
That led me straight to you_

Applause erupted as I finished my song. Very quickly, I gave a small bow then hurried off the stage.

Chelsi went back to her Queenly manner and announced the festival as a complete success…which was followed by a lot of thanks to a lot of people. During the speech, Charity slipped up next to me and began to talk to me in hushed tones.

"I didn't know you could sing like that. It was very beautiful."

I shrugged and tried to remain normal, but I could feel my cheeks start to heat up. "Thanks. You're an amazing singer too."

This time Charity blushed. "It's nothing, really."

Around that time, Chelsi finished her speech.

"-and can't wait to see everyone next summer!"

The crowd roared as some of the number one hits from the radio began to blare on the radio. Everyone began to dance to _"Shut Up and Dance"_ all around us. Rubbing the back of my head I did an awkward bow to Charity.

"May I have this dance?"

She did a little laugh and curtsied to me. In a voice that was a little to former, she replied, "Of course you may."

Slowly, I took her hand and twirled her. As we got the beat, we found the dancing easy as…well dancing. The whole time, Charity smiled and laughed. By the last chorus we were singing along.

 _Charity: Don't you dare look back, Keep your eyes on me_

 _Ethan: I said you're holding back, she said_

 _Both: Shut up and Dance with me!_

The end of the song found Charity staring at me in the eye. She smiled at me with that amazing smile. Without thinking, I leaned…

"Hey guys!" Rusty came running up completely breaking the trance.

I stepped back and dusted myself off. Charity straightened her princess crown.

"Great show Ethan! I loved the ending." Molly came up, but seemed to be glaring at Rusty pretty hard. I wondered if she had gotten in a fight with her brand new boyfriend.

"It was amazing, wasn't it?" I asked rather slowly.

All of my friends chimed in agreement. After a few words I excused myself and ran into the back room. Quickly, I locked the door then leaned against the door.

"What am I doing?" I scolded myself. _Not happening…not happening! You don't dance, let alone date someone. But no, your resolve weakens because of some anesthetic girl._

 _ **But Charity was so…Charity! I mean what girl enjoys guns and sparing?**_

 _That doesn't mean she is available. What if she's engaged? What if she's married!?_

 _ **There was no ring of any sorts when she arrived. The only jewelry of any sorts was the silver bracelets she refused to take off and a very high tech watch. No ring.**_

 _So what? She may have dropped it!_

 _ **How?**_

 _Well think about who you are! Even if she accepted the fact that you are a mercenary that could seriously put her in danger._

 _ **First of all, it's me. I wouldn't let anyone hurt her. And second of all, I was a mercenary.**_

 _Once a mercenary, always a mercenary._

 _ **Shut it me!**_

I rubbed my head. Arguing with yourself gives you a major headache. I'm not a mercenary any more so maybe…

Almost immediately I felt sucked into the past…back to that annoying old lady. Okay… technically I should show a little respect towards her since she was an Oracle. But she had ruined my life.

After my father had been arrested, I hadn't been sure what to do. One of my father's old partner's had suggested I go see this Oracle for guidance. Foolishly, I had followed the advice.

This lady was a little greedy. The more you payed, the more she revealed. Well, I had a ton of money and had foolishly asked her for anything she could see. After the seeing, I was haunted by her words,

" _You'll leave your way of life and follow the hedgehog's wisdom. You'll make many a friends in this new life. Among these friends, one of them will help you find the part you have always hidden. They will show you happiness beyond imagine. But it will not last, and they will leave you behind, heartbroken. In regret and shame, you will return to your old ways, never to return. Every time happiness seems to be found, it will be taken away. Unless you hold on your true source of happiness and never lose faith in them, to the very end, you will die in sorrow and grief, despite having luxury and fame."_

The lady then swept her hand across my face, and I blacked out. When I had woken up, I found myself on the street, in a gutter, all alone.

Back in the present, I shook my head. _You promised yourself that you would never leave your resolve to never leave and never fall in love, so you're going to stick to it. Got it Ethan?_

 _ **I got it…**_

If I had resolved the argument inside, then why did I still feel terrible?

Charity's POV:

After Ethan left, I also excused myself to the back alley way. With the door shut I began to argue with my self fiercely.

 _He's a stranger! Stop it! You may have a boyfriend, or a fiancé or a husband!_

 _ **But I don't feel like I do…and I'm pretty good at distinguishing between hunches and facts.**_

 _That doesn't mean anything! Just because you like him, doesn't mean that you need to fall all googled eyed over him!_

 _ **I would not! He's just a good guy and I'd trust him with my life.**_

 _Then why is he hiding something from you? And don't say he isn't! He so is._

 _ **Maybe he just doesn't like talking about his family.**_

 _Then why doesn't he talk about them a lot?_

 _ **Um…look who's talking! I am pretty sure I had an interesting family too.**_

 _Well then why don't you ask him about that gun? You know he was lying._

 _ **You aren't helping the situation. Now be quiet!**_

Okay, true…I knew he was lying to me a lot, but I just didn't think it was my business…but then again, some of it did affect me. And even thought I'd been in his house for six months, I didn't know him very well. Sure I knew the basics, his favorite color, his favorite food, etc. but I didn't know anything really major about him.

Before I could decide on anything, Molly came and fetched me. It was time to go home.

 **Whew…that was a lot of typing! I don't have any comments. Review please!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone, I have to congratulate DylanDamboise321 for successfully guessing the correct ID of Charity. No spoiling it for others!**

 **Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I hope you all continue to read, and guess what… I just realized how little of this story we have left. We have *pauses to count on fingers* about five more MAJIOR events to happen and then we're basically done… Wow… DW will be released very soon so enjoy the interruption free commentary.**

 **I'm not going to comment on reviews today…just because I am so tired its 10:30 pm and too lazy. Sorry, but thank you all for the amazing reviews. Sorry this one is shorter than the others...but this chapter just was really short.**

Charity's POV:

Okay, I just realized how slow I am on the up take. The week after the Staff Day, half of the day staff disappeared. And then later I found out school had started back up.

To my surprise, Ethan had graduated when he was about 13 so he didn't attend the local high school, Mining High (yep…best name they could think of for a mining town.). In fact, he was attending the online version of Emerald University **(sorry, I couldn't think of anything else)** , which explained why he had begun to be on the computer all morning, every morning.

Which left me doing…what exactly?

"Sorry, I sort of forgot…" Ethan was taking a five minute break from his school work to actually talk to me. "I sort of thought you would…you know…"

 _Be gone by now._

Trying to hide my sorrow, I just nodded with a blank expression on my face. I had thought I'd be back to normal by now as well.

Awkwardly, Ethan continued, "And since we don't know your exact age, we defiantly don't know what grade you're in…and in order to find out we'd have to take a test which would lead to people finding out about the whole amnesia thing which would lead…"

"…to me getting put in a hospital or something else like that. Got it."

The boy nodded slowly. "Right…" Ethan glanced back at the computer screen. "Curses! I hate math! Calculus is difficult…"

I leaned over to stare at the screen. "Whoa…that looks interesting."

At the moment, Ethan was in the middle of his Calculus 2 homework, and it certainly looked difficult. He was always complaining about it, and I could see why…

"Number four is 27."

Startled, Ethan looked up. "What?"

"Number four is 27, not 12."

Rather confused, Ethan looked at the problem closely. "Um…hold on…" Ten minutes later, the hedgehog looked at the paper. "Okay…how did you do that?"

Shyly, I shrugged. "I don't know. It seemed right to me."

For the next half an hour, Ethan sent out a request to all his teachers. He asked if he could take the beginning test twice…the first one would be a practice, the last one would be the real deal.

At first the teachers were reluctant. They finally agreed after the pupil suggested the first score was the final one, and the second was the try and do better, but wouldn't count.

During the conversation's, I stood off to the side rather bored. Three hours later, after he finished his tests, I found myself in the computer chair taking about five-hundred tests. (It was really only English, History, Science, and Math…but still, who likes tests?)

Literally five minutes before work started, I finally finished the dump tests…and unfortunately we didn't get the results until after work.

I felt like a kid on Final's week, worrying that I wouldn't pass the class (which didn't really make any sense, since it wouldn't count on anything…)

After several hours Ethan and I practically ran Sonic-speed home. When we arrived, we wrestled over the computer (Ethan won, but only because I didn't really know how to get to the grade page…)

The brown hedgehogs face read off his grades on the test.

 **English:** _72.4_ **  
History:** _82.3_ **  
Science:** _93.7_ **  
Math:** _90.6_

Slowly, Ethan let out a sigh of relief. "Few…I was worried about English…" Then he read off my grades…which shocked both of us.

 **English:** _89.8_ **  
History:** _98.9_ **  
Science:** _70.8_ **  
Math:** _90.7_

We just sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally I spoke up and in a shaky voice, "Well…I don't think I have to go to high school."

Ethan just nodded wordlessly. "Yeah…maybe you could take classes with me…"

I quickly shook my head. "No, I need to pay for those classes."

Before I finished the sentence, Ethan was already shaking his head. "No, I have a special…circumstance…that basically act's as a scholarship. You could just study with me…and I'll send some money as a 'donation' in return. What do you think?"

Rather reluctantly, I agreed, but soon found out that it worked out pretty well. The teacher's continued to send and grade two tests and I actually learned something new. Then again…it wasn't like I had anything better to do…

Before I knew it a month had flown by, business at the restaurant was booming, Ethan and I were growing to know each other a little better and everything was perfect…until THEY came around…

 **I'm going to have to stop there. Sorry guys, I know you hate cliff hangers. But I am going to bed…Review please!**

 **Almost forgot, LAST CHANCE FOR MERCENARY'S. I will not be accepting them after next chapter, and since I don't know when I'll be posting, I suggest you send them in ASAP. Thanks everyone!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone! Miss me? Okay so last chapter was just an 'ops I didn't explain this thing yet' chapter. So it was kind of short…sorry about that. But this chapter is going to take FOREVER to type… The moment you've all been waiting for is about to happen, (sorry, but it's not Charity's memory returning.) Review comments:**

 **Christian Wolf27: Does he read this story?**

 **DylanDamboise321: Now you know how I feel… No spoiling anything because I have some room next to DW and some extra duct tape. As for emotions…it's going to get interesting…**

 **Meadow: Yep, she's smart.**

 **Okay, on with the story! Can't wait to see your reactions…**

Ethan's POV:

Okay so college with Charity, everything's going beautifully, and then I go to work on an ordinary day and THIS happens…

Maybe I should back up a bit.

Friday the thirteenth of September I go into work with Charity about noon. The sun is shining, the air is crisp, and business is very busy. So I'm busing rushing around clearing tables while Charity is taking orders and greeting people at the door.

Throughout the shift I couldn't help but glance her way every once and a while. More often than not, she was already staring at me or glanced my way a little bit after me. We turned bright red then went back to what we were doing.

At eight I had my break with Rusty. We had a very interesting conversation.

"So what's going on between you and Charity?"

I looked up from my small dinner. "Nothing. We're just friends…"

"Right… Well why do you two keep looking at each other?"

And of course he went there. "Well maybe I'm worried about her…she's going through some hard stuff right now."

Rusty took a bite of his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. "Okay…then why does she keep looking at you?"

"Um…"

He raised an eyebrow. "Quit denying it. You like her."

"NO!"

A customer turned and looked at us with an angry expression.

I decided that it was a good idea to lower my voice. "No…we just-"

Quickly, Rusty cut me off, "Dude, she's an amazing girl and if you don't act first, someone else is going to. And then you can wave goodbye, because anyone who's good enough for her is going to treat her like a girl should be treated. So what are you waiting for?"

The fox got up and threw away his trash. "Think about it."

And boy did I think about it. Finally, after much debate, I finally decided. _"You're going to tell her everything. No more secrets._

Unfortunately, that was has far as I got.

Around nine o'clock at night, we got about ten people coming in for a quick dessert…which was odd, but not un-heard off. Unfortunately, they were not here for just the dessert.

I was in the back when I heard a commotion in the front. As I went to investigate, I thought someone had just spilled the root beer again. Boy was I wrong. Immediately after walking out of the back room door I am pulled forward and shoved at gun point to the center of the room where the rest of the staff is sitting…except Charity.

The purple hedgehog had ducked down when the 'customers' in hoodies had first pulled out their guns…and had been hiding successfully until she had poked her head up. The leader of the group (or at least I thought it was the leader) was now holding her by her right arm very tightly.

"Well boys, looks like we got a feisty one here!" The hooded figure called out.

Charity struggled, then stuck her tongue out at the guy. "Let me go or I'm gonna-"

Drowning out her threat in laughter, every hooded figure died of laughter.

In the back of my head, I had to smile, _"She could beat all of you up with her eyes closed so I wouldn't do that if I were you…"_

Unfortunately, the leader was holding her in just the right way that she couldn't get out without breaking a bone of hers. As she continued to struggle, one of the other guys (red hodie) came over and stroked her cheek.

"Well aren't you a pretty one," the stranger said. The girl tried to bite his finger off. Red threw back his head and laughed. "I like them feisty!"

Once again, like all the other times in the past several months, I drew unwanted attention to myself. Without thinking, I stepped forward, "Leave her alone!"

Black hodie looked over at me. Slowly, he looked me up and down. "Alright…here she is." The mystery man shoved the girl over to me.

I grabbed her and looked her in the eyes, "Are you all right?"

Charity only nodded, but unseen by anyone else, she slipped the gun that she had pickpocketed off of Black into her apron.

After that I just stared at her in amazement. Of course she had wanted to get caught! But she hadn't counted on the whole, 'feisty girl' thing.

"You grew."

I felt my amazement fade and be replaced with confusion. With a puzzled look on my face I turned to the guy in black. "What?"

"Ethan…Ethan Lavar? Is that you?" **(Not Lavarse. Lavar. My bad…)**

Now the confusion turned to fear… "No! I'm Ethan Lavson…" _and now I realized I should have changed my first name as well._

Black pulled his hodie off revealing black pointed ears and bright green eyes. "No, I know a Lavar when I see one. But do you know me?"

I squinted at the figure. The dog certainly looked familiar, but… Wait a second… "Buddy Swiftfoot?"

The figure's face broke into a smile. "Ethan!" Buddy stepped forward and gave me a quick bro-hug. "Man I haven't seen you in like…" he paused to think, "five years! Where have you been?"

Great…so no matter what happens, I'm a dead man. "Oh you know, here and there, nothing too major…" _Please move on to robbing this place…_

Buddy slapped me on the back and pulled me forward, "Hey everyone, it's Ethan Lavar!"

Almost immediately every man there circled up and welcomed me back and all that other jazz.

After that was done, Buddy pulled me aside, and whispered the standard greeting. "Eagles over Hawks…"

I didn't answer. Quickly, I glanced over at Charity. She was just staring straight ahead with an expression of shock on her face.

My old friend said it again.

No answer.

Finally, "What's wrong, Lavar?"

"Buddy…I'm not a mercenary anymore…"

Silence. "Ethan you didn't go Tommy Turner did you?"

"No! I'd never go that low! I just…had an early retirement I guess…"

Buddy was already shaking his head, "Ethan you know the code. You don't leave unless you're given permission or discharged."

"Well…since my Dad was imprisoned, I decided to follow some advice and see what the rest of the world was like…Buddy, please. We're friends…could you please not tell them?" I gestured to the rest of the hooded figures.

Buddy looked down, "Ethan, I know I owe you a life debt, but I can't do this, not even for you. If I get caught, you know what could happen." Slowly, the dog looked up, "I'm sorry. But I promise you I won't let anyone in my crew kill you today. I can put a good word in for you at the lodge, but that's as far as I can go." The dog turned to walk away, but paused, "And Ethan, I haven't forgotten about our friendship, but you know how it goes in this business. If you ever need anything, you can call on me."

Without another word, Buddy walked over to the thugs near the cash register. Slowly, he stepped up onto a table. "Boys…we got a Turner."

On the inside, I was terrified. I'd seen what happened to a Turner once and it was not pleasant to watch.

Everyone in the staff just looked confused. Charity mouthed to me, "Turner?"

I didn't meet her eyes.

Meanwhile, every single mercenary growled in anger and hate. Most of them had pulled off their hoods now. Several people I recognized, such as Talon the Crow, Alex Baxner AKA 'The Beat,' Timber the Wolf, Nyx the Badger, Hex the Bat, and Red the Squirrel. Others were complete strangers…and looked a little more hateful with their glaring.

 _Great…_

Charity's POV:

As soon as Buddy called out Ethan's name, I knew something was up. _Lavar_ , not Lavson; Lavar not Lavson. What the heck?

I vaguely remembered Ethan hesitating when he first told me his name, but had just thought he had… Okay I'm not sure what I had thought, but I had just ignored it. And then they were all buddy-buddy and suddenly Ethan is looking like a terrified school boy.

And what's with this 'Turner' business?

While my thoughts were racing, Ethan was standing off to the side. All of the…whatever they were…were giving him dirty looks.

Buddy continued. "Now here's the thing. He's not a full Tommy and his father was a respected mercenary, so no killing."

 _Mercenary?_

"Another thing; I owe him a life debt, so don't think I'll let this matter slip. Now the code states what we are to do about Tommy's so stick to those boundaries'. Understood?"

All of the mercenaries, I guess, growled in consent. Glancing at Ethan, I noticed that he looked _very_ terrified. Without anyone realizing it, he had moved into the middle of the room and the other thugs had circled around him.

Then all heck broke loose.

A bat attacked first with an air kick, but she only seemed to do it half-heartedly. "Ethan, what are you thinking?"

My friend dodged easily, and stepped back, "I didn't want to lose anyone again…and thought a break would be nice. I'm sorry Hex."

The bat, Hex apparently, punched at the hedgehog, but missed. Slowly, she stepped back into the outer circle. "I believe you…"

Next person who shot forward was a badger who appeared to be a ninja. She didn't do any talking, but simply attacked with her staff. Ethan didn't fare so well this time, and when the ninja finally backed up, he was covered in scrapes and faint bruises.

After that, about three people attacked at once and the boy didn't stand a chance. Personally, it didn't look like he was trying too hard. I just stared at the scene in shock.

 _Okay…what's a Tommy and why are they bad? And why do they want to kill Ethan?_

I didn't get scared until a wolf stepped forward with a gun. Buddy immediately interjected.

"Timber, what did I say about killing him?"

The wolf just grinned. "I'm not going to kill him. See?" Timber grinned, then turned the pistol around and hit Ethan on the side of the head.

The already bruised and cut hedgehog went flying into a table. Finally, the last mercenary stepped forward.

For some bizarre reason, this Human was tapping his batons together as he circled Ethan. "So Lavar…you went Tommy…You're old man would be shamed."

"Well maybe that's why I hid all these years, Beat. I see you're still tapping."

The man grinned. "Never stopped."

"So…can you still move like you use too?"

"How about you be the judge of that." Beat…apparently…stepped forward and swung twin batons in perfect sync to the previous beat. Ten seconds later Ethan lay on the ground moaning.

At this point, I had had enough and gripped the gun I had stolen from Buddy. Without a word, I snuck around behind the two mercenaries who were holding the money.

Meanwhile, Beat had leaned over and began talking to Ethan in a lowered voice.

Everyone tried to listen to what he was saying, but no one could make it out. Over on my side of the room, I knocked out the two mercenaries without anyone noticing.

Beat stood up. "Alright, we can go now."

I grabbed the bags of money and tossed them behind the counter. Quickly, I jumped up and over.

"Hey! What happened to them?" Buddy had just spotted his unconscious co-workers.

All of the mercenaries came over to investigate. Slowly, I counted to ten then jumped back over the counter.

Two seconds later I held red-hodie by the neck with the 'borrowed' gun pointed at his head. "Feisty girls are your favorite, uh?"

Every mercenary just stared at me in shock. Buddy examined me, "Well, well, well, if it isn't my gun."

I smiled, "How about all of you just walk out the back door and pretend this never happened, okay?"

Beat crossed his arms. "Or what?"

"I shoot him."

Everyone laughed and laughed…well almost everyone. Directly in front of me, Hex the bat stared me straight in the eye. "She's not kidding."

The laughter died almost immediately.

In the back of my head I questioned that statement. _Would I actually shoot him?_ The answer came immediately and shockingly, _yes I would…if it meant someone's life or his._

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "Out. Now."

Every robber backed away to the back door. Slowly, I followed them with hodie guy still at gun point.

Outside, everyone single one of them climbed on a motorcycle, either alone or doubling with another. Well, almost everyone…

Buddy came over to me very cautiously, "I'd like my man back now."

Slowly, I eased my pressure off of the mercenary then shoved him forward to the ground.

Red-hodie got up hurriedly and backed away to his bike. Two seconds later I stood alone in the alley with Buddy.

The fox put his hand out, "Can I have my gun back now? It was my Grandfather's…"

Hesitantly, I gave the gun back and waited to duck and cover, but he just slipped it into his holster. "Why are you letting us go?"

I shrugged. "Because I knew I couldn't hold that forever. Besides, I want answers."

The fox raised an eyebrow, "About what?"

"About Ethan."

Slowly, Buddy grinned, "Are you his girlfriend?"

"NO! Why does everyone assume that?"

He raised his other eyebrow, "Sorry, but you seem like his type. What do you want to know about Ethan?"

"How do you know him?"

"Our fathers did a lot of jobs together, so it sort of makes sense that we became good friends."

"Jobs…as in _Mercenary_ jobs?"

"What else?"

I looked at the ground. "I just thought…I don't know what I thought."

Buddy looked at me in confusion then his eye's widened. "Wait…he didn't tell you, did he?"

Slowly, I began to shake my head. "No…I thought I knew him, but now…"

"Hey," Buddy tilted my head up, "Ethan is an amazing guy. Don't start doubting him or his friendship. He will always come through, no matter who or what he is."

I wouldn't meet his eyes. "Sure…"

In the distance, police sirens echoed.

The fox pulled away. "Well, that's my cue to scram." Buddy smiled and hopped on his bike. As he strapped his helmet on, the strange mercenary turned to me. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Charity."

"Charity what?"

"Charity Amni."

"Charity Amni, I'm making you a Fox! If you want to know what that means, go talk to Ethan." The strange fox kicked up his bike and drove off.

Ten minutes later, the police pulled up. They were pretty mad at me for letting the villains get away, until Chelsi pointed out that the money had been saved and no one was hurt. After that, they took it pretty easy on me.

During the questioning, the chief interrogated Ethan off to the side. I couldn't help but overhear part of their conversation.

"…mercenaries…what…here…"

"…annoying…past…names…"

"…code…never…"

Unfortunately, I couldn't make heads or tails of it. By the time the police were done, it was almost midnight. After almost all the staff had left, Ethan and I were the only two left. The only reason we hadn't left was because the chief wasn't done with Ethan yet.

Ten minutes later, he finally let him go. Ethan finally joined me, with bandages wrapped around his head and arms. "Hey. You could have gone home. No need to wait for me."

Slowly, I exhaled. "Ethan…we need to talk."

 **Dun, dun, dah! What is going to happen to our twosome? Will there be fists of fury? What does 'Fox' mean and why is Charity one? All of these will be answered in the next chapter, unlucky number thirteen!**

 **Cosmo: Okay, what is with you and 13?**

 **Me: I just don't like it.**

 **Cosmo: That makes no sense.**

 **Me: Review please!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Unlucky number thirteen has finally arrived! And this chapter is defiantly NOT a happy chapter. Let's get this over with…**

Ethan's POV:

As soon as Charity said those words I knew I was in trouble. Once again, I found us walking down the street, but unlike last time, the purple hedgehog wasn't doing gymnastics and being bubbly excited. Instead, she was looking at the ground and kicking rocks along the sidewalk.

I tried to break the silence, but every time I opened my mouth sound refused to come out.

Finally, Charity spoke, "Why didn't you tell me you were a mercenary?"

"I didn't want you to worry…"

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not-"

"Ethan."

Okay…now she can read my mind. "Okay…I didn't want to tell you, because I wasn't sure if you were one."

The hedgehog looked up. "Meaning…?"

"You would have turned me in as a Tommy Turner and then my life would have made a turn for the worse."

"A Tommy what?"

I looked down. "I can't tell you."

Charity sighed. "See this right here, is my problem. You don't trust me."

"I trust you! It's just-"

The hedgehog turned to me in anger. "No you don't! You don't trust me at all! So what if you're a mercenary! I don't care. It's the fact that you DIDN'T tell me!"

"Ex-mercenary!"

"Whatever! It doesn't matter! The fact that you lied to me! About your past! About your father! About everything! I feel like I don't know you anymore!"

At this point I had run out of words. I opened my mouth again, but once again, I couldn't find my voice.

"No defending yourself! You know I'm right! I can't believe I-"

"You what? Trusted me? Actually made me believe that I could be a normal person for once in my life? Made me see the good in this world and not think that someone was going to jump out and kill me because I abandoned my old way of life? Helped me get past the fear of being discovered and actually want to come clean? Well news flash! You didn't do any of that! You proved the exact opposite! I'll never be anything but a mercenary! No matter how hard I try! No matter how much I want to erase my past, I can't!"

Charity huffed and stepped away, "Erasing your past isn't the option! It's starting over completely and it will eventually catch up. Look what happened today!"

"Well maybe I want to start over. I want to forget all my whole life and just start over. My life would become so much better!"

The hedgehog looked out across the street, "Ethan…you may have a past that you don't like, but look where you are right now. You have a house, a job, friends, and you know what you don't want to do. That's always a start. If you want to leave your past behind you, then why don't you just leave?"

I didn't answer.

Charity continued softly, "Starting over completely isn't easy. You don't have anything to help you along. Just gut feelings but those can only take you so far…"

"And how would you know?" I snapped back, "You don't even know your own name."

The girl's head snapped up. "What do you think I'm talking about!? Ethan you want your memory gone! I want mine back! Do you know what it's like to listen to people's stories of their past, but not have any to tell?! You just stay quiet and long for anything about your father, your family, and your friends! I've been living like this for almost seven month's! I'm lost, confused, and scared! I would give everything to be you!"

"I don't think you get it, I'm a mercenary. _A Mercenary_. Do you know what they do?"

"I don't think you get it, you have so many things to be grateful for, but all you see it the bad things. Do you know how many people would love to be you?! The beaver we met on the street, that family in the run down shack, hundreds would want your life!"

By this point, we had stopped walking and were back to being in each other's faces. "Well I would gladly give it to them! I'd rather be a nobody like you then be me!"

Charity stepped back like she had been slapped. Quickly, she pulled herself together and took a deep breath. "Congratulations, you got what you wanted."

"What's that?" I growled.

"Goodbye, Ethan." The hedgehog turned around and walked down the road…away from me and my anger.

I just stood and watched her go until she had been swallowed up in the darkness. Without another word I marched home, too angry to understand what had happened. When I arrived home I slammed the front door then slumped down to the floor. It was only then that it hit me. Charity was gone…and I didn't think she was coming back.

I'm not sure how long I sat there before falling into a fitful sleep, still in the hall…or when the silent tears started streaming down my face…

Charity's POV:

Ever since Ethan had taken me in, I had pictured our goodbye. I had never imagined it like this…

After I was out of Ethan's sight, I ran. My brain was trying to comprehend what had just happened…part of me was convinced this whole day was a dream, but the other part telling me that it was completely real. Even as I ran, I wasn't positive where I was actually running too. By the time I had realized that small fact, I was already too far into town to know which way to go in the dark.

So I found a park bench, sprawled across it and fell into a fitful sleep.

When I woke up a few hours later, I watched the sun rise while silent tears ran down my face. I sat there for who knows how long before finding my way to Molly's house. Her mother and she took me in without any questions…which helped me a lot.

Around lunch time, Molly came in the guest room with a small pizza. She sat down on the bed next to me. "Spill."

Molly was a good listener. She listened through the whole story from amnesia to the fight and didn't interrupt. Finally, once I finished, she nodded slowly. Without saying anything, she pulled me into a hug and just held me while I cried.

After almost an hour, she finally left my room. I just sat on the bed and stared at the wall. Around four in the afternoon, I found an old acoustic guitar buried in the closet. Almost subconsciously I tuned the thing and strummed a few cords.

"Great…I play the guitar…" I grumbled to myself. I didn't really care at this point. In experiment, I closed my eyes and just let my subconscious take control. Two seconds later, I was singing a song that I must have known deep down inside. Later on, I figured out that there was no such song on the Internet, which meant I must have written it.

Song: If This Were A Movie

Artist: Taylor Swift

 _Last night I heard my own heart beating  
Sounded like footsteps on my stairs  
Six months gone and I'm still reaching  
Even though I know you're not there  
I was playing back a thousand memories, baby  
Thinking 'bout everything we've been through  
Maybe I've been going back too much lately  
When time stood still and I had you_

 _Come back, come back, come back to me like  
You would, you would if this was a movie  
Stand in the rain outside 'til I came out  
Come back, come back, come back to me like  
You could, you could if you just said you're sorry  
I know that we could work it out somehow  
But if this was a movie you'd be here by now_

 _I know people change and these things happen  
But I remember how it was back then  
Locked up in your arms and our friends are laughing  
'Cause nothing like this ever happened to them,  
Now I'm pacing up the hall, chasing down your street  
Flashback to a night when you said to me,  
"Nothing's gonna change, not for me and you  
Not before I knew how much I had to lose"_

 _Come back, come back, come back to me like  
You would, you would if this was a movie  
Stand in the rain outside 'til I came out  
Come back, come back, come back to me like  
You could, you could if you just said you're sorry  
I know that we could work it out somehow  
But if this was a movie you'd be here by now_

 _If you're out there  
If you're somewhere  
If you're moving on  
I'll be waiting for you  
Wary, since you've been gone  
I just want it back the way it was before  
And I just want to see you back at my front door  
And I say_

 _Come back, come back, come back to me like  
You would before you say it's not that easy  
Before the fight, before I locked you out  
But I take it all back now  
Come back, come back, come back to me like  
You would, you would if this was a movie  
Stand in the rain outside 'til I came out  
Come back, come back, come back to me like  
You could, you could if you just said you're sorry  
I know that we could work it out somehow  
But if this was a movie you'd be here by now_

 _You'd be here by now  
It's not the kind of ending you wanna see now  
Baby, I don't like the ending  
Oh, I thought you'd be here now, whoa  
Thought you'd be here by now_

The song ended and I opened my eyes. No Ethan Lavar stood in the doorway this time.

 **Me: Told you 13 was unlucky.**

 **Cosmo: You did that on purpose…**

 **Me: Maybe…Review please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Three chapter's in one night! I'm pleased with myself…let's get a move on. That cliff hanger was evil.**

Ethan's POV:

I didn't go to work for a week after Charity had left. In fact, I didn't leave my house. Over and over again, that night played through my mind…and I regretted every word of it. Deep down, I knew Charity was right; I was being a selfish jerk. But I didn't know how to tell her I was sorry.

Part of the problem was I didn't know where she was. Every day, I managed to convince myself that she would come waltzing up to my door to get her stuff and then I could apologize. And every day Charity wouldn't come.

Finally, Chelsi called me up at the end of the week asking where I was. She told me that the police had explained my past and that she was fine with it. She then told me that if I didn't show up for work the next week that I would be fired.

On the same day, Molly came up to my door. When I opened she gasped. "Ethan…you look terrible."

Quickly, I looked down at myself and frowned. I had been sleep everywhere but a bed and hadn't changed or taken a shower so I guess I should have expected to look terrible, but when someone else says it, it kind of sinks in. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "What is it Molly?"

She blinked at me a few times then shook her head. "Sorry, I'm here for Charity's stuff. She's staying with me until she figures out what she's going to do."

I perked up at that news…but only slightly. "Come one."

Five minutes later, Molly stood on the porch with Charity's entire luggage set. "So…how have you been?"

"Alright…"

"I haven't seen you at work."

"I didn't feel like coming."

"You feel bad don't you."

I didn't answer that question.

Molly sighed. "Ethan…just apologize. If you don't, then you're going to regret it the rest of your life. If she still hates you after it, then you can move on and know you tried, but if you don't try, then you're going to hate yourself." She smiled encouragingly. "But you're going to have to apologize at my house. Charity quit her job on Monday."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "She did?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah…it shocked Chelsi; she still hasn't gotten over it. Anyway, see you around Ethan."

I didn't go to work the week after that either. Too much to think about and not enough time to do it all. I called Chelsi and told her that I was quitting (temporarily, if that was okay. She accepted whole-heartedly, since I'd worked with her for the past five years.).

Three weeks after the fight, I finally got enough courage to clean up and attempt to apologize. Monday, I didn't even get on Molly's street; Tuesday, I got on the street, but couldn't get up the courage to stop in front of the house; Wednesday; I managed to stop in front of the house, but couldn't leave the car; Thursday, out of the car, but not into the yard; Friday, I got to the door. Finally on Saturday, I managed to knock. No one was home.

Slowly, I began to trudge back to car, but heard something, soft at first, but as I went back to the house I heard it more clearly. The strumming of a guitar…

Almost like a ninja, I climbed up the side of the house to where the sound was coming from. When I got to the top, I looked through the window and discovered Charity sitting on the bed strumming along. She sang softly to herself…and didn't notice me standing outside her window.

The next week I fell into a routine. Go up to Molly's house same time of day so no one was home, then sit underneath Charity's window and listen to her sing. Little stalkerish, I know, but somehow the music somehow made me feel loads better. By the end of the week I had the song memorized. On Saturday, I softly sang along with her.

That night I got up the courage and drove over to Molly's house. Finally, I knocked on the door and it opened. Molly smiled at me, then without a word, led me up to the guest room. She whispered good luck to me and ran back down the stairs.

 _One more time Ethan…you can do this._

Slowly, I reached up and rapped three times.

Charity's POV:

Three knock's echoed through my empty room. I hurriedly, shoved the guitar under the bed and grabbed a book. Feigning a look of boredom, I called out, "Come in."

The door slowly creeped open and in popped…Ethan?

I sat up in shock and stared. Earlier that day I had thought I had heard him singing with me, but had dismissed the motion almost immediately. "Ethan…what are you-?"

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out. Embarrassed, the boy looked at the ground. "I mean…I'm sorry for yelling at you. I spoke without thinking…I was just having a bad day. I know that you're mad at me and that you hate me, but I knew if I didn't at least try and apologize that I would regret it the rest of my life and…" Ethan trailed off. "I hope that we can still be friends…but I understand if you never want to see me again…that's all I want to say."

I just stared at him in shock. After a moment I got over my shock which was replaced with anger. "You apologize…now? After three weeks? I've been sitting here waiting for you to call and you never did, until now…and you expect me to forgive you…just like that?"

The hedgehog shuffled his feet. "Um…no. I have been trying to get the courage up for the past two weeks. The first week I was too shocked to do anything…and I didn't exactly know where you were."

I paused then waved my hand. "Okay so you get a pass for the first week, but two weeks? I'm not a stranger."

"Well you kind of made it seem like I was a stranger to you…on that night I mean."

Why did this boy have to be so correct in everything? It was making a lot harder to hate him.

"Well then another week, but what about this week?"

The boy looked around my room. "Um…I've been coming by and trying to get the courage up…but I didn't want to interrupt you…"

"Interrupt me? From what?"

He stared at me for several minutes. Then shakily began to hum…a very familiar tune. The hum turned into words as the song I had been working on for the past little while took shape in the air. Subconsciously, I joined in softly and harmonized.

Song: Say Something

Artist: A Great Big World [with Christina Aguilera (Legendtina)]

 _Say something, I'm giving up on you  
I'll be the one, if you want me to  
Anywhere, I would've followed you  
Say something, I'm giving up on you_

 _And I am feeling so small  
It was over my head  
I know nothing at all_

 _And I will stumble and fall  
I'm still learning to love  
Just starting to crawl_

 _Say something, I'm giving up on you  
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you  
Anywhere, I would've followed you  
Say something, I'm giving up on you_

 _And I will swallow my pride  
You're the one that I love  
And I'm saying goodbye_

 _Say something, I'm giving up on you  
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you  
And anywhere, I would have followed you  
Oh-oh-oh-oh say something, I'm giving up on you_

 _Say something, I'm giving up on you  
Say something_

When we finished, I sighed. "I wrote that song for you…"

Ethan looked down, "I know…and I'm sorry, again." He came over and sat down next to me again. "I won't ever hurt you again…you are unlike any other girl I've ever met and you deserve the best. I promise I will never abandon you again."

Without realizing it, I chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Everyone thinks we're a couple…and sometimes I can't help but wish we were…" _Did I just say that out loud? Great…_

Gently, Ethan took my hand. "Me too…"

Startled, I looked up at him. His eyes shone with honesty and truth. For once, I knew that he wasn't lying.

The boy smiled at me. "Charity…you really did show me a lot of things I've never seen before… and I hope you get to show me a lot more."

I felt a smile tugging at my lips. "Count on it…on one condition."

"What's that?"

"You tell me what being a Fox means."

Ethan just stared at me. "What?"

"You're friend Buddy told me he was making me a Fox. Then he told me to ask you what that means."

His face broke into a grin. "Deal…now before I lose all of this courage, I need to do something that I've wanted to do for a long time."

This time it was my turn to be confused. "What's that?"

"This," The hedgehog grabbed my head and kissed me. Like, legitimately kissed me. Short and sweet, but perfect. He pulled away and smiled. "Goodnight, Charity."

Ethan got up and walked out of the room.

I just sat there shocked then slowly smiled. "Well I'll be…song time!" Hurriedly, I pulled out a pad of paper and began to scribble away.

 **Cosmo: That was cute.**

 **Me: Just going to reassure all of you, if it's not in a PG movie, then it's not going to be in here. Seriously…I have high standards.**

 **Cosmo: Oh good, I like those movies.**

 **Me: Review please!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone! This chapter explains a few Mercenary things, but I think I'm going to write a handbook that explains the whole Mercenary Code, etc. Tell me if you would like that, and I'll get right on it. Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm too tired to thank you all individually. Let's get a move on!**

Ethan's POV:

Okay…the month after Charity and I made up was AMAZING.

First there was the whole job change. For the past five years I had been waiting tables…and I decided I was done with that. So Charity and I decided to start singing at gigs. Since we both played the guitar, we had the whole music thing under control…but Molly and Rusty joined in after about a week with the keyboard and drums.

Our first gig was at the restaurant on a Saturday night…and we were such a huge hit that it became a weekly thing. Every Saturday night we played seven to eight, then another show nine to ten. And boy did we pack them in. Soon after we went public, we had a gig almost every day, some almost a whole day drive's away. I had never had so much fun with my job, and Charity loved it. Sometimes I sang lead, sometimes she sang lead, and other times we did a duet. As our popularity grew, we started getting people coming around for miles and miles away. One night, Annie and Arnold from Team Sonic came and listened to our songs…which just brought more people in. By the end of the month, we had made more on tips and pay checks then I used to in half a year.

Second thing, Charity and I were actually _dating._ I wouldn't say she was my girlfriend and she wouldn't say I was her boyfriend, but we were dating. There was the movie theater, the park, the hike, the restaurants, and my personal favorite, the drives. Sometimes we would just hop in Molly's car or borrow Smokey's bike and ride around the forest and town, laughing and talking to one another.

The third thing, no one was really mad at me for being an ex-mercenary. In fact, people were madder that I didn't trust them enough to tell them. I can't list how many people yelled at me for that, but no one really didn't include me or ignored me because of my past.

So my life was perfect…well almost…

There was one thing nagging me…well two things. The first was the oracles prophesy.

" _You'll leave your way of life and follow the hedgehog's wisdom. You'll make many a friends in this new life. Among these friends, one of them will help you find the part you have always hidden. They will show you happiness beyond imagine. But it will not last, and they will leave you behind, heartbroken. In regret and shame, you will return to your old ways, never to return. Every time happiness seems to be found, it will be taken away. Unless you hold on your true source of happiness and never lose faith in them, to the very end, you will die in sorrow and grief, despite having luxury and fame."_

Okay…so I was officially at the 'happiness beyond imagine' part…right?

The second thing was Charity.

"Come on, what does it mean?"

"I don't think you want to know…"

"Ethan, you promised!"

At the moment, Charity and I were on another picnic up in the mountains. We had driven up almost three hours ago and were now enjoying a peaceful meal (who knew that even a small band could get crazy fans that follow you around?). Unfortunately, the Fox subject had come up, and now I was cornered.

I wanted to tell her, really. But part of me still didn't want her to worry about it.

"Okay…okay…" I gathered my thought's then took a deep breath. "Mercenaries' have ranks…and they basically tell how experienced and how high up you are. The top position is The Dragon. There's only been one Dragon in the history of the Mercenary world and he was before my father was born. Next in line is The Phoenix. This is basically the highest position that anyone can get. My father was one. Below them is The Tiger, followed by The Eagle. Then we have The Wolf, The Hawk, The Fox, The Horse (don't ask), The Badger, and finally The Weasel. When a Mercenary is 'registered' you get your rank and something that shows your rank. Sometimes it's a leather jacket with the symbol on the back or it could be a pin with it on it. When Buddy said that he was making you a Fox, he just meant that he was going to make you an honorary mercenary."

Charity looked a little confused. "What the difference between an honorary mercenary and an actual mercenary?"

Slowly, I sighed. "Well an honorary mercenary just means that you impressed an actual one so much that they made you a mercenary. Basically, you're respected by the community…if that's what you can call it."

The girl nodded slowly, "Oh…so I'm now a mercenary?"

I shook my head. "Not really, it's just that you're respected…that doesn't mean you could go in and become one, but one day it may come in handy. You'd be surprised how many people are mercenaries…"

Charity smiled. "You'd be surprised how popular our band has become."

"I am surprised…but I'm more surprised that you actually agreed to date me."

My date smiled then took my hand. "What were you on the Mercenary Scale?"

"Of course you had to ask."

"Ethan…"

"Alright! I think I was Wolf…almost an Eagle."

Softly, Charity whistled. "You were all the way up there?"

"Well my Dad pulled a few string's and managed to start training me when I was five."

"I didn't know you started that early."

"You don't know a lot about me."

The girl smiled and scooted closer. "Do tell."

"What's the fun in that?" I asked.

Charity laughed softly, "Well, it would save all of this tension and guessing."

This time I moved closer. We were now inches away, "I like having you guess. It keeps it exciting and more of an adventure."

The mysterious girl wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close so our foreheads were touching. "Well then, I guess I'll need to start guessing because this will take quite a bit of time."

"You got that right." I wrapped my arms around her and closed the space. We kissed then released after a little bit.

Charity sighed. "You don't like this."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ethan…every time we hold hands or anything like that, I notice reluctance. Why?"

I sighed softly. "Well…it's the whole turning Tommy thing…"

"What does that mean?"

"Why are we having this conversation?" I groaned.

Gently, Charity pushed me down on the ground then laid down next to me. "Just tell me what it's about. I need to know if I'm in danger from dating you, right."

Subconsciously, I ran my fingers through her quills. "I just don't want you to be frightened…"

"Ethan…it's me. I'm not frightened easily."

"Fine," I finally sighed in submission. Dating a stubborn girl had its draw backs. "Ever heard of Thomas Turner?"

"Um…I'm going to go with _no_."

"Well when my Father was just starting as a mercenary there was this guy who was one of the top mercenaries. He was on his way to becoming the second Dragon, but something happened. On one of his jobs, he got in a bad situation. Basically, the job ended in a terrible accident, no pay and the loss of his best friend and wife. Thomas, feeling bitter and angry, blamed the Mercenaries for it, even though it was no one's fault. So, he swore revenge on the whole Mercenary community. Basically, Turner went rouge, hunting down the best mercenaries and killing them without any mercenary. He didn't turn them in, he killed them, cold blood. After almost six months and hundreds of deaths, Tommy was finally shot and killed in a team effort between GUN and some Mercenaries."

"My Dad was one of the guys who got to see it all unfold. Ever since then, anyone who leaves the Community for any reason, they call a Tommy Turner. You're only a full Tommy if you leave and start hunting them down. Not killing them, per say, but throwing them in jail, turning in names and secrets, things like that."

Charity rolled on her side and looked at me, "And you're one of them…"

"Well I'm only a half Tommy, since I only left. Haven't turned anyone or tried to kill every Mercenary on the planet."

We sat in silence after that. After about five minutes, Charity spoke up. "So why does that make you reluctant?"

"All mercenaries don't like Tommy's, but some of them _hate_ them. There's a small group that hunt's them down and 'makes them pay' for turning their back on the group." I shivered. "In the code, if we ever come across a Tommy, we're to at least take a swing at them, then turn them in to the High Council."

"There's a High Council?"

"You'd be surprised. My Dad was on it for five years in a row…then he got thrown in jail."

The girl just smiled. "Well I learn something new every day…what happens after their turned in?"

"They make a formal announcement and then the Tommy is made public. So in about a week we're probably going to be getting some…interesting visitors in town."

"Meaning…?"

"That group I told you about it going to come and find me…and most likely try and kill me."

At this, Charity sat up. "What? They can't do that! Why would someone want to kill you over a small fact like that?"

I smiled. Charity never saw the world in anyone else's eyes other than her own. "Well, they would usually just mug me and rob my house, but since my father was a well-known and respected mercenary, they're going to feel like I betrayed my family and community…which would be punishable by death in their eyes."

Once again, silence filled the air. We just laid there in silence, enjoying the peace and each other. Finally, I sat up. "We should get going if we're going to make to the restaurant on time." I stood up and offered Charity my hand.

She took it and hoisted herself up. Once again, we stared eye to eye and I couldn't help myself. Quickly, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her again. She kissed me back, but only half-heartedly. As we pulled away, I noticed that for the first time since Charity had first realized that she had lost her memory, fear shone in her eyes.

I stroked her quills back gently. "Hey…don't be afraid. You'll be okay."

"It's not me I'm worried about." The girl looked me in the eyes again. "I'm worried about you."

Slowly, I pulled her into a hug. "Hey, I'm a big boy. And no matter what happens…" I pulled away and stared her straight in the eye, "I've never been happier in my whole life. So I want you to smile and forget about this conversation, just for a few more days. Enjoy the peace while it's here. Don't start worrying…because I don't care what happens to me, as long as you're safe."

Charity just stared at me, "You don't mean that…"

I shook my head, "Charity, I've never felt this way about anyone. Even if it means that I have to die, I'll keep you safe. No matter what…"

Without either of us realizing it, we kissed again. After a little bit, Charity broke away. "We should get going." She walked back over to the waiting motorcycle.

"Yeah…get going." I just stood there watching her go.

" _Among these friends, one of them will help you find the part you have always hidden. They will show you happiness beyond imagine. But it will not last, and they will leave you behind, heartbroken."_

"Shut it me," I growled in frustration.

"What was that?" Charity called from where she was strapping on her helmet.

I forced a smile, "Nothing. I was just thinking about how amazing it is that you're dating me."

Which was true…it just wasn't the whole truth…

" _Man you have got to stop lying to her!"_

" _ **I am not telling her about the prophesy…not in a million years."**_

" _Well then, I suggest that you start driving. Your girlfriend is waiting."_

" _ **She's not my girlfriend!"**_

" _Keep telling yourself that…"_

Did I mention how much I hate arguing with myself?

 **Cosmo: If Ethan die's, I'm going to kill you.**

 **Me: Since when did you care?**

 **Cosmo: What can I say? Charity and Ethan are so cute together!**

 **Me: I think DW agrees.**

 ***DW nods vigorously in agreement.***

 **Me: Don't worry girl, you'll be getting out soon.**

 **Cosmo: But it's so quiet!**

 **Me: Whos side are you on? Review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Charity's POV:

Okay…my life was officially weird. I had gotten amnesia, got a waitress job, stopped two robberies in progress, quite my job, been made an honorary mercenary, started a band, and started dating an ex-mercenary, all in eight months. Yep…weird.

On the bright side, I was now completely positive that I didn't have a boyfriend, fiancé, or husband. In fact, I was 99% sure that Ethan and my first kiss, was my first kiss.

Also, I found out how much I loved music. Ever since I had started scribbling away in Molly's house, I hadn't been able to stop. I had written and performed so many songs that I had stopped keeping track. And the crowd loved them.

At the current moment, we were performing my newest song.

Earlier that day, Ethan had finally explained the whole 'Fox' thing…and I almost regretted ever asking him about it… _almost._ But since I couldn't change the past, I just had to deal with it.

Anyway…our newest song was the song I had been working on since Ethan and I had made up.

 **(Admit it, this totally fits!)**

Song: Mine

Artist: Taylor Swift

 _Oh, oh, oh  
Oh, oh, oh_

 _You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables  
Left a small town, never looked back  
I was a flight risk, with a fear of fallin'  
Wondering why we bother with love, if it never lasts_

 _I say, "Can you believe it?"  
As we're lyin' on the couch  
The moment, I can see it  
Yes, yes, I can see it now_

 _Do you remember, we were sittin', there by the water?  
You put your arm around me for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing, that's ever been mine_

 _Flash forward, and we're takin' on the world together  
And there's a drawer of my things at your place  
You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded  
You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes_

 _And we got bills to pay  
We got nothin' figured out  
When it was hard to take  
Yes, yes  
This is what I thought about_

 _Do you remember, we were sittin' there, by the water?  
You put your arm around me, for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing, that's ever been mine_

 _Do you remember all the city lights on the water?  
You saw me start to believe, for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing, that's ever been mine_

 _Oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _And I remember that fight, two-thirty a.m.  
'Cause everything was slipping right out of our hands  
I ran out, crying, and you followed me out into the street_

 _Braced myself for the goodbye,  
'Cause that's all I've ever known  
Then, you took me by surprise  
You said, "I'll never leave you alone"_

 _You said, "I remember how we felt, sitting by the water.  
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time.  
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter.  
She is the best thing that's ever been mine."_

 _You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing, that's ever been mine_

 _Do you believe it?  
We're gonna make it now  
And I can see it_

 _(I can see it now)_

The crowd in the restaurant roared and broke into applause. _The Sensations_ took a bow then excited stage right.

Backstage, Rusty tapped his drumsticks together in mock applause. "Congratulations, another successful song."

Molly rolled her eyes. "Oh be quiet."

Meanwhile, Ethan was busy staring at the audience. "Mm…"

Ignoring the other two who had started another argument, I walked over and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

"No…or at least I don't think so…"

"Which means?"

He continued to stare at the audience. "I just got a bad feeling…"

Playfully, I pushed him. "Well get rid of that feeling, we still have another show."

Ethan glanced at me and smiled with eyes twinkling. "Are you always like this?"

"Most of the time…but I can get very serious."

"Right…"

"Do you want me to punch you?"

We burst out laughing then joined Molly and Rusty for dinner. Spaghetti and meatballs with bread sticks…as usual.

"Why do we always get the same thing?" I held up my fork that was piled with the food.

Molly sighed. "Because it's the only thing that we can agree on…"

Ethan picked at his meatballs. "I have to agree with Charity…I'm starting to get sick of it."

"Well at least the bread is always good." I threw a chunk at Rusty…which basically evolved into a huge food fight back stage.

By the time we were done, everyone was covered in sauce and small bits of noodles. Unfortunately, that was the exact moment Chelsi decided to come and check on us. She was not happy. After a twenty minute lecture and a very long clean up, she left us to prepare…which left us with less than five minutes to prepare for the final show.

"Guys! Where are my drum sticks?"

"I think there by the food!"

"Didn't you have them the whole time?"

"NO!"

It was a disaster…and a mess.

And that was when everything decided to get worse. One peak out of the curtain and Ethan refused to go on.

"Come on!"

"Nope."

In desperation, I told Molly and Rusty to stall while I talked some sense into Ethan. Reluctantly, they agreed. While that was going on, I was having a heart-racing conversation with Ethan.

"Their here."

"Whose here?" I placed my hands on his shoulders.

Ethan whirled around and looked me in the eyes. "Mercenaries."

After that, I wanted to curl into a ball and not come out. "I thought you said…"

"Sometimes word gets out fast."

"Great…How can you tell?"

Ethan sighed. "How can I not? The jackets; the hidden guns; the bandanas."

"That sounds like an ordinary gang."

The boy glared at me. "Does an ordinary gang wear mercenary symbols?"

Slowly, I gulped. "Never mind. So what do we do?"

Ethan stopped ringing his hands. " _We?_ Oh no…you're not getting involved."

Yep…best boyfriend ever…or whatever he is…

"Too bad. I'm already involved. Now we need to get you out of here."

Without waiting for a reply, I grabbed his arm and pulled him out the back door.

Too shocked to do anything, Ethan followed me obediently…until we were out of the building. Then he finally shook free from my grip. "No. I'm not leaving town. Let's head back to my place and hide out there."

Immediately, I spotted the hole in his plan. "Um…Ethan? Won't they just find your house?"

"Well yes. I'm counting on it." Ethan smiled slyly. "How else are we going to catch them?"

This time I smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

My amazing friend…date…ugh… grabbed my arm and twirled me around. "It's a surprise…now let's go."

Without another word we ran off toward his house…just as the mercenaries came out the front door.

"Hey!" The first one yelled.

I don't think I've run so fast in my life…or maybe not…ugh! I hate my memory… Anyway, we ran about ten yards until a familiar voice stopped us.

"Ethan! Stop running! It's me!"

The spoken hedgehog stopped and turned around slowly. "Buddy?"

"Duh!" The fox through back his hat revealing the old friend…apparently.

While Ethan and Buddy had their weird boy reunion, I examined the two other mercenaries.

The first was a very familiar bat…I racked my brain until I found her name…Hex. She seemed to be a Hawk according to her leather jacket with the symbol bronze etched into the front and back.

Over to the left, was…Beat? Sure enough, the human was standing there, tapping on his batons as usual. According to his jacket he was apparently a Fox, but his symbol was etched in a dull orange.

Buddy turned out to be an Eagle etched in white.

After the reunion, Ethan stepped back and looked at the three of them. "So…you're not trying to kill me…right?"

Nervously, Buddy looked around the area. "No, but if anyone asks; we weren't here."

I rolled my eyes. _Mercenaries…_

Of course, Ethan was very understanding. "Right. What are you guys doing here?"

Hex fluttered her wings nervously. "We came to warn you that…you know…"

"The council has announced me as a Tommy Turner, I know." The ex-mercenary waved his hand.

Slowly, Beat shook his head. "It's worse than that… The Assassins have declared personal vengeance on you… We shouldn't even be here, we could get killed ourselves!" He tapped nervously.

Without waiting for Ethan's reaction, I held up a time-out sign. "Hold it. Who did what?"

My confusing hedgehog friend ran his fingers through his hair. "Remember that group I told you about? Well members of that group are more…secluded from the other mercenaries. The top portion of that group is called The Assassins…since that's what they do." Ethan sighed a long sigh after this. "And now I'm the target…"

Everyone (but me) looked at the ground sadly.

Instead of moping, I frowned and crossed my arms. "Well, are we just going to stand here, or are we going to do something about it?"

Buddy smiled. "Is she always this stubborn?"

A large grin broke onto Ethan's face. "Pretty much. What do you have in mind?"

Slowly, I smiled. "Haven't you guys heard of 'out smarting the enemy'?" As fast as I could, I explained my plan to the others.

After I finished, Hex just stared at me. "Are you sure you're not a mercenary?"

Ethan smiled. "Oh, she's sure. Let's get moving!"

Without another word, the five of us ran off to Ethan's house to set the ingenious trap.

 **Few…I'm glad that's done. Okay, Review comment's at the end (because I'm too lazy to scroll to the top.** **)**

 **Dylan: Sorry if I'm needy. I just like feedback…it helps me know when to stop writing. Seriously, criticize people! I get all positive stuff…I know I'm not perfect… what's wrong with this story? By the way, you did a great cryptic job at that review. Great job on not spoiling anything! (hope you keep it that way)**

 **Christian: I think so too, but Ethan doesn't. Characters don't have all of my same beliefs.**

 **Meadow: It's Lavar. LAVAR. Sorry that I wasn't clearer on that, but it does get a little confusing.**

 **Anyway, thanks for all of your support! Well, the four of you that I actually know read my story, but thanks to all of those that look at this! Updating is probably going be really slow from here on out. (Lots of junk going on in my life right now…sorry)**

 **Cosmo: Ok, 16 chapters are we almost done?**

 **Me: *flips through pages* Actually, yes… We got about…four, five chapter's left? Wow…this story went by fast.**

 **Cosmo: Where's Nicole? You said she'd be in here.**

 **Me: She will! Just wait patiently…**

 **Cosmo: This story has no relevant application to Team Sonic.**

 **Me: What did I say about being patient?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while, but I've been busy. Anyway, one review!**

 **Cosmo: Stop complaining. At least you got one!**

 **Me: Yeah, but I just realized how much I liked feedback…call me selfish or whatever, but I like all of the comments.**

 **Cosmo: Thanks to Meadow for review this dumb, unrelated story.**

 **Me: What did I say about being patient?**

 **Cosmo: Whatever…**

 **Me: ACTION!**

Ethan's POV:

The fact that Buddy actually came and warned me, helped with the whole, "I have to turn you in as a Turner" anger against him. Since we had been friends since…I could remember, I decided that I could forgive him…on one condition.

"Let me help you with that," Buddy came over and took up the large weights that Charity was struggling with.

She smiled. "Thanks. That weighs a ton."

Slyly, the fox winked at her.

In the past, Buddy flirted with every girl he ran into. Looked like things hadn't changed since then.

Charity grabbed another box and heaved it up. As she walked by me, she smiled. "Haven't had to pull an all-nighter in a-while."

I stared at her blankly. "What do you mean?"

Her face scrunched up in confusion. "I…don't know." Charity walked off in confusion.

Over in the Garage, Hex was busy packing up all of my Dad's old mercenary stuff and moving it all to the attic. When I had asked her why, she simply replied with, "Wouldn't want this stuff to get ruined… Besides, someone gets to claim it if you don't survive." She smiled smugly at me.

Good old Topaz…a thrifty mercenary if I'd ever seen one. And she was also very smart and always seemed to work out every possible outcome…even the bad ones.

Down in the basement, Beat was…doing something.

"Okay, seriously what are you doing?" I came down for the third time that day and found…nothing. Upstairs, I could hear everyone else working their tails off while Beat was… being strange? Every time I checked on him, he was at a different part of the large basement fiddling with something different. The one thing that remained that never changed was the fact that the radio was blared up all the way.

Beat ignored me (or more likely couldn't hear me) and continued fiddling with whatever.

Finally, after yelling my question at the top of my lungs, he turned towards me and turned down the volume. "Hey Lavar. What's up?"

Annoyed, I shook my head. "What's up? What's up with you? What are you doing down here?"

He shrugged. "Well someone needs to clean up this death trap."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Well look at these walls!" Beat motioned around at the now open walls. "Your lighting was wired in incorrectly, the plumbing was leaking, and don't get me started on the ventilation system."

Rather doubtful, I looked around at the now messy basement. "Okay then…you know that I'm more worried about my life right now. Not my plumbing."

Beat shrugged. "Well if I hadn't fixed it then your house would have burnt down. Now if you'll excuse me…" he turned the radio up again and went back so smashing open walls.

I sighed and went to check on Buddy in the garage. Unlike Beat, he was actually working on something that might save my life. When I walked in, I found him hunched over my Father's old motorcycle. In frustration Buddy hit the engine with a wrench.

"Dumb bike," his mood visibly brightened when he saw me. "Hey Ethan, give me a hand with this engine."

After a few minutes of tinkering with the old bike, Buddy spoke up. "So, why did you go Tommy?"

I sighed. "Are you sure you want to hear this story. You may hate me for the rest of Eternity…"

"I can take it."

Slowly, I sat back. "Well it all started on my father's final job…"

" _Ethan! Come on!" My father sat in the driver's seat of the truck._

 _I KO'ed the remaining guard then jumped into the passenger seat. "Ready!"_

 _He hit the gas and we speed off down the road. "Well, I hope this job was worth it. I didn't expect that many guards…"_

 _I nodded. There were quite a bit of guards for a bunch of rouge mercenaries goods…or so we thought._

 _Unfortunately, we didn't get far. One second we were speeding down the road, next thing I know, Dad was maneuvering like crazy around some blurs of…gold and blue? With my heart pounding, I felt the semi roll a bit too far to the right. I saw the incoming road then everything went dark._

 _When I came too, I found myself face to face with…oh boy._

" _Well, well, if it isn't Lavar Jr," the hedgehog said with a straight face._

 _Great…Team Sonic. I caught sight of the blue blur himself dragging my Father into a police car. He looked a bit angry, but not at Sonic. "I swear I didn't know that was the cargo."_

 _The hedgehog smiled. "Yeah, yeah, save it for the judge."_

 _Slowly, I looked at the carnage that remained of the truck. The back of the truck was split open to reveal the cargo…GUN crates? Which meant…weapons? We had taken weapons from GUN?_

 _My thoughts were stirred by a jolt from behind as Shadow heaved me up. "Well how would you like to join your old man in a cell?"_

 _I just shook my head in shock. "I…we… There were weapons in there?"_

 _Dubiously, Shadow just looked at me up and down. "I take it your Father didn't tell you everything. And those weren't just ordinary weapons…they were experimental weapons of mass destruction. GUN has the power to lock your old man in a cell for the rest of his life."_

 _I felt my knees give away. But…this was supposed to be a simple life-paying debt that my Father owed… I felt my blood go cold. Why that little snake! Here I was not even a teenager yet and I was already on my own._

 _Shadow seemed to read my mind. "How old are you kid?"_

" _Twelve and a half…almost." I answered the questions without thinking._

 _Slowly, the strange hedgehog sat me down. "Look, I can't speak for your old man, but you…you got some spunk. You don't have to stay a mercenary, you know. Sometimes it's easier to look for your destiny without parent's consent." Shadow looked around ruefully. Team Sonic was busy cleaning up the mess while the police was still securing the area._

 _I just shook my head. "You can't escape a mercenary life…it's just how it works."_

 _In a mumble that I could only hear, Shadow replied. "Well I was the same… Heck, everyone is the same. Find the good in your life, it can be in some of the strangest places…trust me." Without really realizing it, the hedgehog pulled out a small photograph of…was that two more hedgehogs?_

 _Vaguely, I remembered that the GUN agent had two clones that he apparently hated…or did he. I shook myself to reality as Shadow did the same._

" _Listen kid, I'm not going to press charges on you…as long as you disappear after this."_

 _I looked a bit confused. "And how do I do that?"_

 _Shadow smiled. "Well…"_

 _A few days later, I found myself back at the old house with all of my records anywhere (except mercenary headquarters) completely erased from existence…and a new chance at my destiny apparently._

"After that I changed my name…took a job at a restaurant and never had to look back…until now."

Buddy revved the now fixed engine. "So…you left because so crazy hedgehog recommended it too you? That's your excuse?" He didn't look convinced.

Slowly, I spoke up. "That…and I didn't have the courage to come back."

As my friend started to work on the back wheel, he replied. "Hey, just because you didn't finish the job doesn't mean that we would have rejected you. Why, my father would have taken you under his wing along with me. There's no shame in-"

"That's not what I was afraid of," I interrupted.

Buddy sat up and looked at me a bit confused. "Then what were you afraid of?"

Rather guiltily, I looked down. "I didn't want to end up the way my Father went…or worse."

"What are you talking about?"

"That last job was given to my father by a man who he owed a life-debt. The man had saved my father's life a number of years back and it was time for my dad to repay him."

A large clank filled the air when Buddy hit the bike again. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing…except when the man gave us the job, he simply said it was a rouge group of mercenaries we were stealing from. At the time, there were about three of them, so we didn't think it was out of the ordinary. Later, I found out it was GUN weapons…the man lied to us."

Once again, Buddy missed the picture as he hit the bike again. "Still don't see the problem. If he had told you what it was, would you still have done it?"

"Probably…but later, after his arrest, I was sitting in a waiting room when I overheard some guards talking about an anonym's tip they received about the said robbery. The only people who knew about the job, was my Dad, me, and the man who gave it to us…

This time, Buddy sat up straight. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Slowly, I nodded. "Yep, he ratted us out."

After a few moments of silence, Buddy spoke up. "Ethan, you're my friend, but you can't go spitting out accusations like that. That's a complete back on the code. Why would someone want to get you Lavar's out of the way?"

I shrugged. "Maybe because my Father was a rival of his…and they were competing for the only empty seat on the council."

Buddy hit his head on the handle bars. "Wait…there were only two contestants for that position. Your Dad and…" I saw his face go pale.

"Exactly…"

"It does seem like something that guy would do." Buddy completed changing the old tires.

I just nodded. "He would and he did…if I came back, then I knew it wouldn't be long until I was gone. So I thought, why not?"

"Dude, you need to report this. If that guy gets…" Suddenly, Buddy cut off.

"Gets what?"

"N-Nothing…"

"Buddy…Now."

He took a shaky breath. "Ethan…last I heard, he's trying to become the next Dragon…"

Quickly, I in took a short sharp breath. "If he does that…"

"…then every mercenary every will be under his rule…"

"…and he wouldn't care about anyone or anything except himself."

"Don't forget his girlfriend."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Don't forget the whole, 'I can travel through time and into other dimensions,' bit that he has."

"Seriously, that guy hasn't aged very much since the first time I saw him."

"Since anyone saw him. And he's been around since Team Sonic originally faced Shadow."

The two of us exchanged grim looks. Buddy took a deep breath. "I'll warn some people about Scourge…only people I'd trust with my life. If he takes over…I'd hate to think about what he'd do." The fox stood up and dusted himself off. "Besides, it's time that we mercenaries left. If we're caught helping you…well I'd rather take chances with that Green Snake."

Rather reluctantly, I said goodbye to my old friends (and allies). Charity and I waved goodbye to the three motorcyclists as they drove off into the now rising sun. I checked my watch and realized that we had worked all night.

Over to the right, Charity yawned. "Well I'm tuckered out. I'm going to go crash, what about you?"

I shrugged. "I'm just going to keep watch. Sleep tight."

The poor girl was too tired to argue. "Alright…night." After Charity went inside, I sat on the porch…waiting for the killers to arrive.

 **Cosmo: …Who's Scourge?**

 **Me: You don't want to know, trust me. Hey Dylan, what do you think? Burn returns?**

 **Cosmo: That creep? Why would he come back?**

 **Me: That's between me and him. Anyway, next chapter; mercenaries vs. mercenary and anesthetic girl…this will be fun!**

 **Cosmo: Please review, because I'm pretty sure that if you don't make some comment, Era may lose some confidence.**

 **Me: I will defiantly lose confidence and the ID of Charity will remain a mystery for all of time.**


	18. Chapter 18

**CLIMAX TIME! Actually I thought I did terrible on this chapter. Anyway, enjoy please! You guys are amazing! I was in the typing mood today, so two chapters in one day! Yes! On to the story!**

Charity's POV:

Note to self: next time I date an ex-mercenary; don't. I literally slept the whole day after I had stayed up for 36 straight hours. By the time I woke up, it was already dinner time. When I went to go check on Ethan I found him asleep on the porch with his song notebook opened and his guitar nearby. Slowly, I crouched down and picked up the notebook.

Ethan always was best at writing in nature…thus was the case this time. I read through the song and without realizing it, began to sing it out loud rather softly.

 _Song: My Wish_

 _Artist: Rascal Flatts_

 _I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,  
And each road leads you where you wanna go,  
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,  
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.  
And if one door opens to another door closed,  
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,  
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile.  
But more than anything, more than anything_

 _My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,  
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,  
You never need to carry more than you can hold,  
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,  
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,  
Yeah, this, is my wish._

About this point, Ethan, who had woken up without me realizing it, started strumming his guitar and took over on singing.

 _I hope you never look back, but you never forget,  
All the ones who love you, in the place you live,  
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,  
And you help somebody every chance you get,  
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,  
And always give more than you take.  
But more than anything, yeah, more than anything_

 _My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,  
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,  
You never need to carry more than you can hold,  
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,  
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,  
Yeah, this, is my wish. Yeah, yeah._

 _My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,  
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,  
You never need to carry more than you can hold,  
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,  
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,  
Yeah, this, is my wish (my wish, for you)._

 _This is my wish (my wish, for you)  
I hope you know somebody loves you (my wish, for you).  
May all your dreams stay big (my wish, for you)_

He ended playing as I sighed. "Did anyone ever tell you that you are amazing at that?"

He just smiled. "Just now," Ethan put his arm around me. "Look…you don't need to stay. I don't want to see you hurt or worse. There's a family down the road that could take you in until the storm blows over and-"

I stopped him right there. "Ethan. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be fine, as long as you don't do anything dumb…okay?"

Slowly, the boy grinned. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Helped me when I fell down."

Ethan's smile grew. "Well who else notice the small purple dot at the top of the cliff? You were lucky to survive that, I mean it was like a…" he trailed off in thought. "How did you survive that?"

"What do you mean?"

"That was like…a hundred foot drop…there's no way you should have survived that."

I frowned. "Um…"

Suddenly, Ethan tensed. Under his breath, he mumbled, "Laugh."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Without another thought I laughed really hard along with Ethan. He laughed and laughed while helping to my feet and gently, but quickly pulling me inside. Once the door was closed his face changed. "Well it's too late for you to leave now."

I stared at him, with reality sinking in. "Are you saying…"

"They're here…"

Even though we had a plan, that doesn't mean I liked it. The plan involved me hiding in the basement on the phone with 911 while Ethan took his gun (the one he hadn't shot in five years) and delayed the assassins…yep. Worse plan ever.

But Ethan didn't really care. He just rushed me down stairs and tucked me behind a bunch of exercise equipment with the cell phone Molly gave to me as my 'birthday' present. "Don't move. As soon as you hear the door break open, dial."

"And the reason I can't help is because…?"

"I don't want you hurt. This is my fight. Now stay quiet."

The stubborn boy ran up the stairs quietly.

After a few seconds, the doorbell rang.

After another five minutes of pounding and scrapping the door slammed open.

I hit 9-1-…then paused. Did I want to sit in the basement helpless while Ethan risked life and limb for me? I already knew that answer. So what now?

Up above I heard gunshots and furniture crunching. _Follow your instincts…and FOCUS._ I closed my eyes and let my feelings take over. I hit the one button, waited for the normal, '9-1-1,' then simply said. "Man with gun. Hurry." Another gun shot went off just before I hung up. Quickly, I stood up and rushed soundlessly up the stairs. Time to make sure Ethan didn't get killed…

Ethan's POV:

After tucking Charity in the basement, I ran up the stairs and hid behind the kitchen counters. When the doorbell rang, I didn't move. The assassins outside tried the door and found it locked, and then they started the kicking.

Only problem was the door was completely hidden behind a bunch of full boxes so it took way longer than it should to kick down a door. By my estimate, it took about five minutes to completely knock down the dumb thing.

"LAVAR!" A disturbingly familiar voice called. _Jeffery…_ hated that hedgehog! And on top of the fact that he was annoying, he also had powers…

I heard two more pairs of footsteps echo through the house. Very slowly, I peeked around the corner then hid again.

 _Great…as if my day wasn't bad enough._

Jeffery's girlfriend, Tia, had come along for the ride. Then they had their creepy side kick; Tiny.

 **(New idea! Instead of having to explain the whole mercenary, I'm just going to copy and paste. I think I'll call them Mercenary Profiles…)**

 _Mercenary Profile: Jeffery the Hedgehog_

 _Pale gray hedgehog with blue green eyes. Umberkenetic (darkness controller). Very negative. Doesn't like people, kinda similar to Shadow personality wise. Will work under basically any circumstance. Wears gloves like Silver, but there are triangles instead of circles, and the aura is deep purple._

 _Mercenary Profile: Tia the Fox_

 _Dark purple with a sky blue right eye. Lost the other in a mission, and is proud of it. She wears a lavander eye patch over her left eye. She wears dark blue skinny jeans and a green tank top. She can fly/drive any basically any vehicle you could dream of. Never backs down from a challenge. She's a know-it-all, and never let's anyone prove her wrong. She goes above and beyond and will risk anything(including her eye) to finish a mission._

 _Mercenary Profile: Tiny the Flying Squirrel_

 _Orange fur, and has fur on top that she puts in a pony tail. Green eyes. She is really small, like as tall as cream even though she is a lot older. She pretends to be cute and harmless, then she whips out her twin pistols and wreaks havoc. She's a really good shot, but prefers to use pistols. Equally talented in both hands at firing. She's really picky about her jobs, and only does ones she finds worthy._

Yep…day just got worse.

I heard Tiny shuffle through some of the now broken boxes… In a very cute (and creepy) voice she reported. "He's here somewhere…"

I could almost imagine her smiling and had to shiver. "Ugh…"

"What was that?" Tia asked whirling around.

 _Ops…now you get to have some fun._ Hoping to surprise them, I jumped out and shot blindly. The three of them yelped and ducked for cover. Pretty soon we had an old fashioned cowboy shoot out on the first floor of my house. At one point, Tiny got a lucky shot and grazed my left shoulder, but I ignored the pain.

Suddenly, Jeffery stood up and yelled, "ENOUGH!" A large sound like a shotgun rang out and I suddenly found myself pinned to the wall. I felt my body suddenly thrown up and over the counter. With a very painful landing I found myself staring up at Jeffery from the floor…and his hand was glowing.

"Hello, Ethan. It's been a long time."

I groaned and stood up balling my fists. "Jeffery," I replied nodding.

Behind him, Tia and Tiny were pointing their guns directly at me.

"So Lavar, I heard you went Tommy…and this attack on us just proves it."

I narrowed my eyes. "You just kicked down my door! What do you want me to do? Throw myself at your feet and yell, 'Have Mercy!'?"

With a smug look on his face, Jeffery smiled. "Well it's better than shooting at us. You're out of practice."

I shrugged, wincing at the pain from the graze. "I noticed. I really need to drop by a shooting range soon…"

Tia smiled at me. It never reached her eyes. "Oh you aren't going to get to do that, unfortunately. Any last words, Lavar?"

Over to my right, Tiny was dancing back and forth, excited to see me get shot right through the head.

I looked up at the ceiling. "Not really. Only thing that comes to mind is the fact that I wish my house was clean."

Jeffery rolled his eyes. "Don't worry; we'll be taking your stuff anyway. Goodbye Lavar." He raised his hands, which began to glow purple.

 _Well you knew you weren't going to win. At least Charity's safe…_

The glow grew brighter, then I suddenly heard someone yell, "NO!" and a flash of gold exploded in between Jeffery and I.

The two of us flew back, as Charity came out of nowhere and pounced on the guy. As she punched the stunned hedgehog, Tia and Tiny stood there in shock…until I retrieved my gun and fired.

Tiny yelped and grabbed her right thigh in pain. Unfortunately, that seemed to snap Tia out of her trance. She jumped over the struggling hedgehogs and punched me in the face. I stumbled back in pain. _That's going to leave a mark_. After that, I was done hiding behind the counters. I grabbed Tia's incoming punch and held it tight. I pulled her closer and in a low voice, "Don't ever call me a Tommy again…and unless you value your life, I suggest you leave me alone. Despite what you all think, I'm still a Lavar, not a mercenary, just a Lavar." I flipped the fox over the counter with a grunt.

Meanwhile, Jeffery had somehow thrown Charity off and the two of them were now locked in fist on fist fight for their lives. Jeffery kept trying to summon his dark energy, but was interrupted every time by Charity's fist.

Somehow, Tiny had grabbed her gun and was angry. Quickly, I ducked behind some overturned furniture as the shots rang out. I started fumbling with my gun when I heard something that made my blood go cold.

While I had been avoiding bullets, Jeffery had pinned Charity against a wall and finally summoned his energy to hold her down. " _Who are you?"_

I dropped my gun, then hurriedly picked it up and tried to re-load it with shaking hands.

"Charity. Now let me go!"

The hedgehog laughed. "Or what?"

Then things got confusing. Charity closed her eyes and just hung there. Jeffery, taking this as a sign of submission, grabbed a nearby vase that had somehow stayed intact this whole time. In what I swear was slow motion, he swung it directly at her head. At the same time, the dark energy holding her broke with a pretty big golden explosion, which sent Jeffery flying back. The vase smashed on top of her head and Charity fell to the floor unconscious. Across the room, Jeffery hit his head on a wooden table and fell unconscious.

I just stood there, staring in shock with Tiny and Tia. Luckily, I recovered first. In two short movements, I shot Tiny in the left arm and knocked Tia out with the butt of my gun.

After the assassins had been taken care of, I rushed over to Charity. She was unconscious, but breathing alright.

Two minutes later, the police pulled up. The chief, who was familiar with my background, settled most of the problems. Shortly after, Jeffery, Tia, and Tiny were carried to an ambulance. I had insisted that Charity stayed with me; at least until those three were out of the hospital.

Two hours later, the police left with a promise that they would post a guard near my house. I didn't really care, as long as Charity continued to be alright.

When the house was finally quiet, I joined the unconscious girl on the couch. "Well…we did it." I rubbed the back of my neck rather nervously. Subconsciously, I leaned forward and gently kissed her. "Thanks."

Charity smiled in her sleep. In a gentle way, I sat the hedgehog up and sat down next to her. I held her for what seemed like hours, until I finally dropped off to sleep around three in the morning.

Last thing I remember before drifting off was me whispering in a soft voice, "I love you."

 **Yay! The story's almost over!**

 **Cosmo: Where did the gold explosions come from?**

 **Me: No comment. Next chapter is *drum roll***

 **Cosmo: Why this applies to Team Sonic?**

 **Me: Yes! I mean, no! Charity gets her memory back!**

 **Cosmo: Yeah…don't care. I'm more worried about how much head trauma this girl can take.**

 **Me: Review please!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Me: Hey everyone! This chapter makes me go…uh-oh.**

 **Cosmo: Meaning?**

 **Me: Meaning you're going to kill me, because I don't think I'm going to be able to update for the month. Maybe later this week, but no promises… and it end's in a terrible cliffhanger that you're going to hate.**

 **Cosmo: Great…I'll go prepare the hate mail bags.**

 **Me: Anyway, DW gets released at the end of this chapter so you know what that means!**

 **Cosmo: Let's just find out who the dumb girl is…**

 **Me: I wouldn't let Charity hear you say that…ACTION!**

Charity's POV:

Last thing I remember before blacking out was a giant headache…

When I woke up I found myself in Ethan's arms asleep on the couch. The brown hedgehog was sleeping soundly and softly as the sun rose over the mountains.

I smiled and gently kissed him on the cheek. "Sleep well, dear…" Slowly, I got up without disturbing his peaceful sleep.

Tiptoeing to the kitchen, I began to prepare a celebratory breakfast…for something. After examining the house, and figuring out that we weren't dead, I assumed that the whole assassin thing was over. So time to celebrate.

As quickly as possible, I made pancakes, eggs, bacon, and milk…well milk for me. Ethan hated milk. Instead of milk, I pored my friend some Cranberry juice.

It glinted red in the sun, like an emerald…

 _Wait what? Emeralds are green, not red…right?_

I shook my head in confusion. _Red, not green…red, not green…focus._

I closed my eyes and let my thoughts take over.

 _Red, not green…emerald…focus…gold energy…red emerald…_

Suddenly, my brain got such a massive feedback that I stumbled back and dropped on the floor. I grabbed the counter to try and stabilize myself, but only managed to slow my decent.

I grabbed my head in pain "Ugh…"

After the whole brain hurting thing I leaned against the cupboards. _What was that…wait a second…_

Narrator's POV:

Charity sat up. "I…I remember…" She grinned and jumped up in joy. "I REMEMBER!" The girl grinned.

" _I have to tell Ethan!"_ Excitedly she ran over to the door then froze with her hand literally an inch away from the door handle… _"Ethan…oh no."_

The girl stepped away from the door hesitantly at first…then bolted to the garage door. She yanked the door open with a bang.

Over in the living room, Ethan jolted awake. "What? Who? Where?" He rubbed his eyes then looked around. "Charity? Where are you?"

In the garage, the girl took deep breaths to calm her. Her eyes fell on the newly fixed and tuned up motorcycle. _"Okay, need to clear my head. Let's take a ride."_

Hurriedly, she grabbed a helmet and swung up on the bike.

Back inside, Ethan heard the garage door open. He walked over to the door and opened it just in time to see Charity drive away. He thought aloud, "I didn't know she could drive a motorcycle."

" _You don't know a lot about her, idiot."_

Unconcerned, Ethan shrugged. He guessed that Charity just wanted to drive around for fun. If only he knew what was really going on. When he went back inside he found the prepared lunch and smiled. "You know what I like." Ethan sat down to the delicious meal, unconcerned about Charity's own un-touched lunch and what his strange friend was doing.

Miles away, on the forest road, a purple hedgehog zipped down the highway. She came to a stop overlooking the town and the surrounding forest. Slowly, she took off her helmet and shook her head. Over and over, she looked through her memories, wishing she could erase everything in the past ten months…but knew that she couldn't

She looked at her hands. Purple with white gloves…she hated purple. Right? The furious girl shook her head. Once again, she looked out at the beautiful view…she might have been able to enjoy it, if her heart and brain weren't so busy arguing.

After several hours of pacing, arguing with herself, and throwing rocks in anger, the hedgehog stood up. Slowly, she exhaled. On the inside, the girl was an emotional train wreck, but on the outside, she was completely stone faced. "Sayonara, Charity Amni…" She climbed up on the motorcycle and began the short drive back to the Lavar house…it was time to say goodbye.

 **Cosmo: Hold it! What? How can you just end it like that?**

 **Me: Hold on for just a second Cosmo, I have to un-gag DW. *walks over and rips ropes and gag off of the girl***

 **DW: *in sing-song voice* She's back!**

 **Cosmo: Oh boy… I'm going to take her in for a checkup, because there is no way she is all there. *leads partially insane girl out of room.***

 **Me: Anyway, if you haven't guessed, Nicole just came back. Yep…Nicole was Charity and Charity was Nicole. Please don't hate me. It was fun to watch you all guess and ponder. I gave quite a few hints however, so I'm sure a lot of you figured it out. Anyway, next time, the goodbye…I think I'm going to bawl. Review you're reactions to Charity's Identity. I would love to read them (just no cursing please. Thanks!)**

 **Cosmo: *pokes head back in room* What do you mean Charity's Nicole!? Hello? They look completely different!**

 **Me: Nicole can change her appearance, the gold energy in previous chapters was her chaos energy, and they both can sing. It's Nicole…get over it.**

 **Cosmo: Wait how long is it going to be until the next update?**

 **Me: *shrugs* Not sure…a month? Maybe this week? Sorry in advance if this whole thing kills you. Just hold on for just a little bit! You guys are amazing! Review!**

 **Cosmo: More like trash talking…**

 **Me: Do you want me to give you amnesia?**

 **Cosmo: …I'm going to check on my patient…**

 **Me: Good idea…**


	20. Chapter 20

**Me: Okay, best reviews ever. Seriously, I loved the PM's as well. I got one PM from an elder sister of a fan of mine telling me how she guessed Charity's ID and her sibling didn't believe her (Not saying who for security reasons…and not sure if they'd appreciate it) Seriously, I LOVED these reactions. Oh, nohailzone, bit confused on the whole Ivan quoting thing. Could you PM me what you meant? Thanks.**

 **DW: *comes skipping into the room* I'm so glad that I'M FREE! *runs in circles shouting for joy***

 **Cosmo: *comes in carefully* She's almost recovered, but I think she'll be fine.**

 **Me: Good, because I need her to post her story soon. Otherwise, the whole character mixing thing will not make too much sense…**

 **DW: I'll post soon.**

 **Me: Good. Now let's get this sadness over with…ACTION!**

Ethan's POV:

I knew something was up when Charity didn't come back by three. By five, I was 99% positive of what was coming next… But hey, I could always be wrong… At six, I pulled out my guitar and began strumming random notes. Pretty soon I had a whole song (well at least the tune) but the words still hadn't come.

About that time, I heard my motorcycle drive up the gravel road. It sounded pretty slow…

 _Song: Here Comes Goodbye_

 _Artist: Rascal Flatts_

 _I can hear the truck tires coming up the gravel road  
It's not like her to drive that slow, nothings on the radio  
Footsteps on the front porch, I hear my doorbell  
She usually comes right in, now I can tell_

Slowly, I heard Charity climb up the door steps. Two seconds after the sound died, the doorbell rang. I got up and walked to the newly fixed door (had to do something while I waited for her to come back). When I opened it, I found Charity sitting on the edge of the porch with her back to the door. Rather reluctantly, I walked over and sat down.

"Hey."

The girl didn't answer.

 _Here comes goodbye  
Here comes the last time  
Here comes the start of every sleepless night  
The first of every tear I'm gonna cry  
Here comes the pain  
Here comes me wishing things had never changed  
And she was right here in my arms tonight, but here comes goodbye_

"You okay?"

Still no answer.

After that, silence filled the porch for several minutes. Then Charity took a deep breath.

"Ethan…I have to go."

I looked out at the now setting sun. "You got your memory back…I'm glad." I placed my hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off almost immediately.

I frowned. "What's wrong, Charity?"

"Don't call me that." Charity replied. She wouldn't meet my eyes.

I looked at the ground. "So I take it you're going back home…will you ever visit? Or am I going to have to hunt you down?" I asked in a playful manner.

Hurriedly, the girl shook her head. "No. I'm not coming back and don't come looking for me."

My frown deepened. "Well will you at least keep in touch?"

Charity was already shaking her head. "Ethan…it's best that we forget everything. Forget Charity. Forget these past ten months. Move on in life."

"Charity, I-"

"I told you not to call me that!" The hedgehog snapped. Charity glared at me with a fierceness I'd never seen in her before.

Rather gently, I attempted to place my hand on her shoulder again. "You'll always be Charity to me."

Once again, Charity shook it off. "I don't think you get it. I'm leaving. You forget. I forget. Life goes on. Nothing more."

I frowned even deeper. "Why? Are you engaged? What is it?"

 _I can hear her say I love you like it was yesterday  
And I can see it written on her face that she had never felt this way  
One day I thought I'd see her with her daddy by her side  
And violins would play here comes the bride_

In a sad way, Charity looked at the ground. "You know Charity…I'm not her."

"Nonsense. It doesn't matter what your name is, you'll always be the same person."

"No I'm not. You are, so is everyone else…I'm not. You don't understand…"

"Then help me understand. What is it? I can help."

The girl stood up. "No you can't. You can't now, or ever." Charity walked into the house without looking back.

I stayed there for a few minutes before following her inside.

 _Here comes goodbye  
Here comes the last time  
Here comes the start of every sleepless night  
The first of every tear I'm gonna cry  
Here comes the pain  
Here comes me wishing things had never changed  
And she was right here in my arms tonight, but here comes goodbye_

When I found her, she was in the guest bedroom packing up a small suitcase. Most of her clothes were thrown on the ground and they didn't look like they were going anywhere. In fact, the only thing Charity seemed to be packing was sheet music, a red t-shirt, black pants, and combat boots…none of which seemed her usual style. The strange girl slipped the cell phone Molly gave her into her pocket.

"If you're not going to keep in contact, why are you keeping that?"

Charity whirled around. "Don't do that!" she…scowled? Okay then…maybe she was different. "As for the phone, I'll call you when I get home so you don't start worrying and come looking for me…ugh…"

I just nodded, a little surprised of how it seemed she'd read my mind. "So you really aren't going to call after that?"

Slowly, she nodded.

"Then I guess this is goodbye…"

Again, Charity nodded.

 _Why does it have to go from good to gone?  
Before the lights turn on, yeah and you're left alone  
All alone, but here comes goodbye_

 _Oh-oooo_

 _Here comes goodbye  
Here comes the last time  
Here comes the start of every sleepless night  
The first of every tear I'm gonna cry  
Here comes the pain  
Here comes me wishing things had never changed  
And she was right here in my arms tonight, but here comes goodbye_

 _Oh-oooo_

Rather awkwardly, I shuffled my feet. "So…see you around Charity?"

The girl just shook her head. "No…"

I think it was about there I lost my temper. "I don't understand! Why can't we still be friends? How in the world am I supposed to forget about you?!" Attentively, I took her hand. "You're unlike any other girl I've ever met…and I don't know if I can live without you. NO, I can't live without you. I know that…can't you visit? Even once a year…I could live with that."

Charity pulled away. "No Ethan. I'm never coming back…I'm sorry. You loved Charity…I'm not Charity."

"Yes you are! How can you not see that? You are her! I mean look in the mirror and she's right in front of you!"

The girl grabbed her luggage and walked out of the room without another word. I hurried after her and tried one last time.

"Charity…please. I-I-I think that I love you…you brought me happiness that I never knew existed. I don't care why, but I still want to be your friend, at least your friend. I'm not asking you to marry me or anything like that, but I just want to be a friend. Just a friend…please Charity."

We now stood at the front door. The girl didn't even look back. She just grabbed the doorknob, locked eyes with me and said three words. You'd never think that those words would make my heart and life just shatter.

"Charity is dead." The girl exited the house.

Meanwhile, I felt as though I'd just been beaten up by angry mercenaries (and I know what that feels like.)

I could almost hear the oracle reciting that cursed prophesy. " _You'll make many a friends in this new life. Among these friends, one of them will help you find the part you have always hidden. They will show you happiness beyond imagine. But it will not last, and they will leave you behind, heartbroken. In regret and shame, you will return to your old ways, never to return."_

After a second, I ran to the front window and watched as the purple hedgehog disappeared down the street…along with any hope for any happy ending.

Nicole's POV:

It had been two weeks since I'd said goodbye to Ethan…and I was feeling terrible. Every day I woke up with my heart feeling hallow, but shoved it off.

When I'd left the Lavar house, I'd walked out of town, then teleported with my remaining chaos energy. I hadn't realized how much reserved energy I could store for so long until I had gotten amnesia. Enough to keep up the purple hedgehog disguise use my ability's twice for defense, and teleport about five miles up into the hills to an old abandoned GUN facility (it looked more like a cabin from the outside, but it was an undercover operation base). Yep…Lost's of energy storage.

So here was my year:

January: spent that month 75 years in the past on Space Colony ARK.

February: stayed at this abandoned facility for recuperation. Fell off a cliff after I decided to take a hike disguised as a purple hedgehog. Got amnesia.

February-November: Stayed with Ethan Lavar as a girl named Charity while trying to get my memory back.

December: More recuperation and recovery, but from something else.

The first person I contacted was NOT Ethan. One week after leaving the little town, I grabbed NOVA from the abandoned quarters that I'd crashed in when I first came here.

" _ **Well look who finally decided to pick me up."**_

"Shut it and call Shadow already."

" _ **Calling the annoying mentor."**_

Nervously, I waited for the phone to get answered. I wasn't sure what to expect when he answered the phone. Whatever I was expecting, it was not what I got.

The phone went click and immediately got yelled at.

" _WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"_

I actually had to pull the mirror/phone away from my ear. "Wow…someone's in a bad mood," I replied half-heartedly.

My mentor must have caught the tone in my voice and calmed down significantly. _"Sorry…I've had a rough day. Jr almost killed Arnold, Annie almost killed Jr because he almost killed Arnold, Topaz wouldn't answer her phone again, and Arianna is panicking about you 24/7."_

A bit confused and unconcerned, I just said the first thing that popped in my head. "Why was Jr trying to kill Arnold?"

" _He just found out that Arnold and Annie have been dating in secret. I haven't seen him that mad since… Don't change the subject! Where have you been?"_

I rubbed the back of my head. "I'd rather not talk about it. Just calling to tell you to not launch a man-hunt to find me…I'm fine. I just took an unexpected adventure…"

" _An adventure that prevented you from calling me for ten months?"_

"Sorry, that's all I'm saying until a later date."

On the other side, Shadow sighed. _"Fine. Are you coming home?"_

This is the part that got me nervous. "Well…I would love to come home, but…I need sometime. I'll be back in early January."

" _Early January? That's a month from now. Arianna is going to freak if you stay away a minute longer."_

I hesitated then firmed my resolve. "I miss her too, but I really need some recovery time. I'm sorry…really, I am."

Silence followed for a few moments. Until, _"What happened? You don't sound like your normal sassy self."_

"I'm not sassy," I replied half-heartedly.

" _Well you aren't right now. Are you alright?"_

Quickly, I pulled myself together. "I'm fine. Look, I'll be home around New Year's. Tell Arianna I hope she has a Merry Christmas."

Once again, Shadow sighed. _"Alright. But promise me you'll be back by January 1_ _st_ _. Arianna is giving a speech at nine am. President's orders. He's making a public Presidential Pardon for the damage she caused when Missy took over."_

I frowned. "But it wasn't her fault. Missy took her over. Why does she need a Pardon?"

" _Well the President believed our story, but he was concerned that no one else would. So we're just spreading the word around that she just had a major mental breakdown. Don't worry, all of GUN knows what happened and it's in the database. I agreed with the President that it was for the best…this way the people will take it a little easier on her."_

Reluctantly, I nodded. "I guess you're right… I promise I'll be there for her speech."

" _Alright, I'll see you then. Goodbye Nicole."_

"Bye Shadow."

The phone clicked as my mentor hung up.

I just sat there in sorrow and pain. Ari had to plead insanity…ugh. Like my week couldn't get any worse.

After another week passed, I reluctantly called Ethan on Charity's cell. I sat on the front porch step and dialed the number. When he answered, it sounded like withheld relief.

" _Wondering when you were going to call."_

"Well I'm safe, so stop worrying and move on in life." On the inside, my Charity self was screaming at me to apologize and go back. But my other side was also screaming at me to finish the dumb phone call ASAP.

Meanwhile, Ethan just sat in silence for a moment. _"That's a bit harsh to someone who helped you out, don't you think?"_

"I repaid the favor. This is where you hang up, delete the number, and completely forget about Charity."

More silence followed. _"Charity, I-"_

"Don't call me that!" I snapped back.

" _Well sorry, but I have nothing else to call you since you left before you told me your real name. If not Charity, then what's your name?"_

I groaned inside. Okay, options: continue being called Charity or tell him my real name. Well my name couldn't hurt…right?

"Nicole."

" _Nicole? That's…a beautiful name."_

Great, my ex-whatever-he-was likes my real name… "Are you going to hang up yet?"

" _No. I want to talk about…well the future. Why can't we be friends? I'll take pen-pal at this point."_

"It's better this way. Just forget about me."

" _Why is this better?"_

I looked out into the darkness, just thinking about the terrifying enemy's that would kill me. "It's for your protection. Just trust me."

" _My protection? I'm an Ex-Mercenary gone Tommy Turner, how much more danger can I get in?"_

"A lot…a lot more…"

" _Look, Nikki. Can I call you Nikki?"_

"No."

" _Nicole then, I'm willing to take the risk. If you don't want too, then I won't call you back…but I don't want that."_

I took a deep breath, "Well that's what I want…now forget."

" _One last thing…Nicole…I'm no expert but… hasn't Nicole the Hedgehog been missing for a while? Like almost a year? And you've been with me for almost a year…and I know there was no way for an ordinary person to fall from that cliff and survive. Also, there's the weird gold glow that happened in the middle of the mercenary invasion of my house…"_

As Ethan was talking, I forced myself to remain clam. _"You had to have revealed your name,"_ I scolded myself.

Ethan finished with, _"So I guess I'm asking, are you her?"_

I sat in silence for several seconds. To lie, or not to lie, that is the question… Alright Nikki, you burrowed yourself in this corner so it's time to burrow yourself out. "Yes…" _What did I just say?_

The other line filled with silence until, _"But you're purple…"_

"It's called, creating a disguise with chaotic abilities…" I grumbled softly.

" _Okay, I'm starting to see why you're trying to cut ties, but look. I don't care if you're a clone of Shadow. He actually helped me a while back…so I got nothing against the guy. I never hated Nicole or anything so can't we just…start over?"_

I will admit, that sounded really good. On the inside, I felt my resolve crumbling. "No Ethan…we can't."

" _But-"_

"Goodbye, Mr. Lavar." I hung up the phone before I could convince myself to do otherwise. Afterwards, I dropped my phone and buried my face in my knees. Almost silently, I sang to try and comfort me. It didn't help…

 _Song: Starts With Goodbye_

 _Artist: Carrie Underwood_

 _I was sitting on my doorstep,  
I hung up the phone and it fell out of my hand,  
But I knew I had to do it,  
And he wouldn't understand,  
So hard to see myself without him,  
I felt a piece of my heart break,  
But when you're standing at a crossroad,  
There's a choice you gotta make._

 _I guess it's gonna have to hurt,  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,  
And let go of some things I've loved,  
To get to the other side,  
I guess it's gonna break me down,  
Like falling when you try to fly,  
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,  
Starts with goodbye._

 _I know there's a blue horizon,  
Somewhere up ahead, just waiting for me,  
Getting there means leaving things behind,  
Sometimes life's so bitter sweet._

 _I guess it's gonna have to hurt,  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,  
And let go of some things I've loved,  
To get to the other side,  
I guess it's gonna break me down,  
Like falling when you try to fly,  
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,  
Starts with goodbye._

 _Time, time heals,  
The wounds that you feel,  
Somehow, right now._

 _I guess it's gonna have to hurt,  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,  
And let go of some things I've loved,  
To get to the other side,  
I guess it's gonna break me down,  
Like falling when you try to fly,  
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,  
Starts with goodbye,  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,  
And let go of some things I've loved,  
To get to the other side,  
Starts with goodbye,  
The only way you try to find,  
Moving on with the rest of your life,  
Starts with goodbye,  
Na na na na na na na._

The song ended with me crying softly while cricket's chirped out their searching cries.

 **DON'T KILL ME! Well that took forever, but seriously, this is the last update for a while. Sorry! One more chapter and this story is over and we'll FINALLY get back to Second Generation. I technically could have left this all out, but I think it was fun. Thanks for being patient with me…you guys are the best.**

 **DW: Can we bring in you-know-who yet?**

 **Me: Next story…no stop spoiling everything!**

 **Cosmo: What are you talking about?**

 **Me: You'll see, now say bye everyone. I'm so tired…**

 **DW: Bye! *waves like crasy***

 **Cosmo: Review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey everyone, I found time for the computer. Look, I was going to do another chapter, but I'm just going to start the next part of the story. The next part will be called _Returning Shadow's._ Why? Because we're going to have A LOT of returning character's. **

**Second Generation is coming back along with Shadow, Dr. Anderson, Prof. Robert's, a few random mercenaries, and ETHAN. Along with them, a new character will jump in. Also, new and old villain's will return to make life difficult for our heroes. Thus, continues the ensuing drama of The Shadowed Chronicles. (I'm sorry, I had to make some crazy title. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it.)**

 **See y'all very soon!**


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